The Wild Hunt
by EbonyShroud
Summary: After managing to avoid getting married to Princess Ruto, Link thought he would finally be free of crazy women. However, Nabooru of the Gerudo has other plans, as the Gerudo celebration, The Wild Hunt, draws near.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, its EbonyShroud. Here is the follow-up to ****The Deranged Zora and the third story in the Unwanted Love Trilogy****, ****The Wild Hunt****. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Outside of the Spirit Temple, the hot desert breeze swept across the sand. The sand shifted in the insistent breeze, dancing across the small dunes and settling again until another breeze disturbed their rest. The stars twinkled down on the desert; the moon was a silver crescent that shone majestically among the twinkling stars. The desert temple stood proud in the desert, sheltering many Gerudos that had come to worship.

"Another sandstorm is coming from the east," A young Gerudo whispered as she glanced behind her and scanned the horizon, she and her fellow Gerudos were kneeling in the shadow of their sacred temple. They wore ceremonial shawls made with weathered fabric and long skirts that were stained with sand from walking through the desert to reach their temple. They had been kneeling for several hours, ignoring the sun when it had been in the sky and the harsh winds that swept past them.

"Hush, Versa. We must wait until Nabooru has finished her offerings and prayers to Our Lady before we depart. Sandstorms are nothing compared to the anger of the Lady should we abandon her in fear of a sandstorm," The eldest gerudo hissed from the front line of kneeling Gerudos. The other older Gerudos glared back at the girl, annoyed with her disruption, before staring back towards the temple. Versa ducked her head and prayed a short apology to the goddess, her face turning red in embarrassment.

Nabooru placed a golden chalice on the offering stone table and looked up at the large statue of the Lady of the Sun. The giant statue was illuminated by the rich golden candle light, giving the statue a beautiful golden appearance. Nabooru was dressed in the traditional shaman robe; although it was far too big for her. However, since there was no King to appease the goddess, she had to take his abandoned position and lead the gerudos. She could not wear the traditional headdress, since the headdress was shaped from the skull of an ancient dragon and could not be adjusted to fit her head. However, her hair was tightly braided and blessed feathers were woven into her thick red hair.

"Goddess of the land, creator of your loving people, the days of the Wild Hunt are at hand and we ask for your guidance," Nabooru chanted, taking out her spear and laying it on the altar. On either side of her, her two most loyal Gerudos came with the Gerudo Clan's many spears, placing them on the table.

"May She Who Brings Light watch over us as we prepare for the coming days," The two girls answered, stepping back from the altar. Nabooru placed her hands on the altar, her eyes staring at the chalice she had placed on the table only moments before.

"Lady of the Sun, grant us the vision to those blessed with your favor!" She yelled, lifting her head to the face of the goddess. The spears on the altar smoked, the metal crumpling to white ash and a sharp acrid smell rising with the smoke.

Then all the Gerudos fell, not one of the Gerudos stayed upright as they were blessed with a vision from their goddess. Once the vision passed, the Gerudos regained their senses and returned to their kneeling position again. Some of them cried with joy, some were silent as they contemplated the vision sent to them. Nabooru, however, giggled like a young Gerudo when she received her first scimitar. Her goddess had blessed her richly; she could barely contain the love she had for her Goddess for the wondeful blessing. Even though her vision was hazy, something she wondered about and soon forgot in her eagerness, she recognised her prey instantly. She, and only she, was granted the boon to have Link as her prey and soon-to-be-lover.

* * *

Link frantically began packing once he reached Lon Lon Ranch. He was not going to wait until the Wild Hunt started to get away. He already had to survive Ruto's desperate attempts at marriage, he tried not to imagine what would happen if Nabooru managed to find him. The Gerudo were not known for being angelic women who assist weary travelers, they were theives and skilled warriors. If anything, he would have a much harder time escaping them if he happened to be caught off-guard.

"Will you really be all right? You don't think anyone will go there searching for you?" Malon asked as she hurried in, giving him two loaves of bread wrapped in rough cloth and a bottle of Lon Lon ranch's specialty milk. All the drawers had been ripped open, clothes were scattered around as Link figured out he could fit into his pack. Malon frowned at the mess, she always tried to keep the house she shared with her father, Link, and Ingo clean. However, she knew it was not the right time to scold him about making messes. He had to leave as soon as possible, in order to reach his destination and hide before the gerudos left their fortress home in search of men.

"I'll be fine, they shouldn't come since it's very easy to get lost in Lost Woods. There is the added fact that no men are out there to find, just the Kokiri children. I will hide out in the woods for a week and then come back once it is safe. It should be safe for me there," Link said hastily as he put the loaves and bottle into the bag also. Checking twice to make sure he had all he needed, he swung it over his shoulder and hurried out the door. Malon rushed after him.

"Be safe, all right!" She shouted as he jumped onto Epona. The horse snorted as if in irritation, but her eyes sparkled happily when she saw her master again.

"I will, just make sure you dad stays away from them until this whole mess is over!" Link shouted back, and then Epona tore out of the ranch.

"He is gone again," Malon whispered unhappily and then hurried inside to wake her father and Ingo and alert them about the 'surprise' that would be arriving in three days.


	2. Chapter 2

Saria sat on the roof of her house, watching the Kokiri running to and fro in a frantic game of tag. Her fairy was darting around her head and bugging her about visiting the skull children, whom the fairy thought Saria hadn't visited recently.

"Saria, come on! The Skull Children are bound to be lonely! Let's go visit them!" The fairy yelled, landing on Saria's shoulder and tugging on Saria's green hair in order to get the girl's attention.

"I visited them yesterday, remember? Oh, wait a minute, I just remembered that _you _spent the whole afternoon sleeping," Saria said in response. The fairy huffed in annoyance and sat on her shoulder.

"It's not my fault that you labeled the bottle wrong. You really need to fix those labels so it won't happen ever again," The fairy snarled. Saria giggled at the fairy's response, her giggles made the fairy more annoyed. The fairy grumbled to herself, angry words that Saria couldn't hear or care about.

"_Saria?" _A familiar voice suddenly called from the pouch. Saria jumped and almost fell off the roof in surprise.

"Nabooru?" She said as she opened her pouch and pulled out a green medallion.

"Why did that talk? Who is Nabooru? What are you doing?" Her fairy frantically asked, jumping up adn fluttering around Saria's head in search for the source of the voice. Saria rolled her eyes and she snatched the fairy out of the air. The fairy squacked in surprise as Saria shoved the fairy into the pouch she just had pulled the medallion from and closed it.

"_Saria? I almost thought I contacted Impa again. Who was that?" _The medallion asked again.

"That was my fairy, sorry. It's been a while, how are you?" Saria asked, turning away so that the kokiri don't see her talking to a medallion. The last time they saw her talking to it, Mido asked the Deku tree and Saria got a lecture about being lax about her duties.

_"Nothing good, Saria. I really need to find Link. Something has come up and it's urgent that I find him. Have you seen him?"_ Nabooru asked.

"No, I haven't seen him. He hasn't been by for a while," Saria said thoughtfully. Nabooru sighed through the medallion.

_"He hasn't? Interesting. Do you know where he usually is?"_ Nabooru asked.

"He talks about Lon Lon Ranch a lot, maybe he is there. What is this about? Can I help?" Saria asked curiously.

_"Don't worry about it, Saria. I'll go see if he is at Lon Lon Ranch. I need him for..."_

* * *

Nabooru broke off the link that had corresponded between her Spirit Medallion and Saria's Forest Medallion. She blushed as she suddenly realized what she had said to Saria when she started rambling. She had forgotten that Saria was still a child, with a child's innocence. However, she pushed that out of her mind and thought about the location Saria had mentioned. She had hoped, almost expected, Saria to know where Link was and give her a definite location. They were childhood friends, after all. However, Saria's mention about the ranch at least gave her a hint to where her prey was located. She grinned, it was time for her to start the hunt.

"Viento, come!" Nabooru called. After a few minutes, she heard soft hoof-beats from the general direction of the stables, the soft heavy steps becoming louder with each stomp. She smiled as her horse stormed across the barren fortress to greet his master with a nuzzle against her cheek. She gently shoved the horse's face away from her own, gently scratching the horse's mane as her own greeting to him.

"Let's go to the Ranch, boy!" She said as she clambered onto his back. The horse snorted happily before he raced down the sandy road and out of the abandoned fortress.

* * *

"All right, Epona. You can return to Malon, if you so want." Link said at the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. The horse snorted into his face before turning around and trotting in the general direction of Lon Lon Ranch. He laughed and walked through the wooden opening until he reached the Kokiri village. All the children stared at him before returning to their own business, they rarely see anyone tall and seeing anyone who is taller astonishes them.

"Link!" Link heard Saria's voice before he hugged him from behind. He jumped in surprise, to Saria's delight.

"I was hoping you would come. Nabooru has been looking for you," Saria said as she let go and skipped around Link to face him.

"Saria, when was she here?" Link asked worriedly, already looking around for the Gerudo that happened to be on the top of the list of people to avoid.

"Oh, she wasn't here. She contacted me through the Medallions and…why? Why are you so worried?" Saria asked as she noticed how white Link had become.

"Saria, what did you say to Nabooru?" Link asked.

"I said I haven't seen you in a while. Is something wrong?" Saria asked.

"Uh, its nothing. Don't tell Nabooru I am here, okay?" Link asked. Saria nodded, and then she gave a puzzled expression.

"Link, what does 'sex' mean?" Link dropped his bag when he heard Saria say sex.

"Where did you hear that, Saria?" Link asked hoarsely as he picked up the bag and headed up to enter Lost Woods.

"From Nabooru. What does it mean?" She asked persistently

"Its means…a bad word in another language. Don't ever say it again…" Link said, wondering what else Nabooru might of accidentally mentioned.

"Oh…" Saria said, looking down at the grass as she thought about what Link said. They walked in silence all the way to the temple before she spoke again.

"Link?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What does 'ravish' mean?"

* * *

Nabooru clung to her horse, ignoring the cold wind that was racing across Hyrule Field biting at her face as she noticed the small black dot known as Lon Lon Ranch get bigger the longer Viento galloped.

"The hunt has begun!" She crowed giddily to the moon above her. Viento returned her yell with a crowing neigh of his own as he continued galloping across the field.


	3. Chapter 3

As Viento slowed down at the base of the hill that Lon Lon ranch sat upon, Nabooru noticed a wooden notice nailed onto a sign saying the ranch was closed.

"Did Link find out already?" Nabooru whispered to herself before spurring on her horse. He neighed and trotted up the hill. She could see the rosy rays of the sun coming from over the wooden walls of the ranch; she scowled as she realized she spent most of the night galloping to this destination. She only had three sunsets to find Link before the ceremonies began.

"Hello? Anyone here?" She called out as they walked into the ranch. The ranch appeared to be deserted, there were no horses galloping about or farmers working. She slid from her horse and tried the door to the farmhouse. She could hear angry clucking from inside, but it didn't interest her as much as the fact that the door was locked. Confused, she turned around and walked to the barn, pushing open the door with her foot and slowly pulling out her sword. Then, she noticed a red-haired girl mucking out a stall, her back to Nabooru.

"Excuse me?" Nabooru called friendly. The girl stiffened and turned her head to look at Nabooru. Nabooru suddenly had a thought, _didn't someone mention this place to me before…_

"The ranch is closed. You need to leave," The girl said stiffly.

"I saw the sign. I'm looking for a friend, have you seen…" She started to ask, taking a step forward. The girl lunged at her, her muck-covered pitchfork swinging to hit her.

"Hey!" She yelped as she ducked under the wide swing and tackled the girl. The girl screamed angrily and clawed at Nabooru's face. That was when Nabooru remembered what she thought about earlier. Ten years ago, one of her elder sisters came here and was attacked by the wife and seven-year-old daughter.

"You will not take my father! Never, you bitch!" The girl screamed.

"Shut up! I'm not here for you father!" Nabooru yelled back.

"You won't take anyone!" She yelled. Nabooru rolled her eyes and smacked the girl. This quieted her a little, enough that Nabooru's ears would stop ringing.

"I'm not here for you father. I am looking for Link, where is he?" She hissed.

"Who's Link?" The girl replied haughtily.

"Link, he is known to usually be here. Where is he?" Nabooru said.

"Never heard of him, now leave!" The girl growled.

"Oh, so you are saying Link's long-time friend is a liar? I know he spends his time here, so tell me where he is!" She yelled.

"What, so you can force yourself on him like that Zora Princess?" She yelled back.

"See, you know Link, since you gave away Ruto," Nabooru replied sweetly.

"Damn it," The girl swore.

"Now, I'll make you a deal. You tell me where Link is, and I won't let my sisters carry off your father," Nabooru said. In truth, she couldn't do such a thing. if one of her sisters did have the father for her prey, she couldn't do anything about it.

"Link's hiding at Princess Zelda's castle," She replied. Nabooru smiled and let the girl up, but she knew it was a lie. Who would go to a _princess_ for protection?

"Wait here for a just a second, please?" Nabooru asked, then walked out of the barn. She pulled out her Spirit Medallion.

"Saria?" she asked.

"Nabooru?" The reply came almost too quickly.

"Hey, Saria. Are Link and Zelda close?" She asked.

"They are friends, yes, but not altogether close. Zelda is a princess, you know," Saria's reply came almost angrily.

"Well, I just heard from someone that Link is over at the palace. Is that true?" Nabooru asked.

"No! He is not at the palace! He would never hide in a well-known place. That's why he is over…" Saria retorted. Nabooru grinned; Link was over in Kokiri Forest, by the sound of Saria's indignation.

"Just checking. Bye, Saria!" She said.

"Nabooru! Wait…" Saria's voice called frantically as she broke the connection. She walked over to Viento and pulled something from the saddle

* * *

"Girl? What's your name?" She called as she walked back in. The girl had returned to mucking the stalls.

"Malon. Didn't I ask you to go away?" She growled.

"You did, and I will leave. I just have one thing to say," Nabooru replied cheerfully.

"And what is that?" She growled as she turned around.

"You lied to me, Malon," Nabooru hissed sweetly. A look of confusion came to Malon's face and Nabooru took the chance to jump the girl. Soon, the farm-girl was tied up on the floor.

"Now, I know Link is over at Kokiri Forest. So, you get to come along and convince Link to come out of hiding!" She replied cheerfully as she started dragging Malon out of the barn.

"Link will never…" She started to yell. Nabooru sighed and punched the girl as hard as she could. The girl groaned before falling unconscious.

"Girls are so noisy," She sighed as she threw the farm-girl onto Viento's before jumping on. Viento neighed in annoyance before he began trotting to the exit.

"By the Goddesses! My daughter is being carried away by Gerudos!" A horrified scream came from the house. Nabooru laughed as she spurred Viento and they galloped out of the ranch.

* * *

"Link! I'm sorry! I am so sorry!" Saria screamed as she ran into the temple. Link looked confusedly at her as she ran to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he put the sword he had been cleaning to his side.

"Nabboru…just asked if you were at the palace…and I think…she figured out…you were here…I'm so sorry!" She wailed.

"Saria…" He started to say.

"Its all my fault! Now she knows…" Saria continued to wail.

"Its okay!" Link yelled. Saria hiccupped and stared at him.

"What do you mean? You said not to tell her…" Saria whispered. Link smiled and hugged the crying Kokiri.

"I didn't want my general location discovered. However, she still has to find a way through the Lost Woods and if you make sure no one will lead her through, she will be lost long enough for the festival to end," Link replied soothingly. Saria nodded and Link pulled away. She sat down beside him, looking at the weapons he had collected on his travels before suddenly thinking of something.

"What festival?"


	4. Chapter 4

The sun was setting over Kokiri Forest, letting the last of its splendorous golden rays free to play on the green leaves and houses the Kokiri resided in. The children, ignorant of the sun's descent and the moon's rising, continued to play a feverish game of Tag. However, one kokiri was not playing with her fellow kokiri.

"Great Deku Tree? Why are you so quiet?" Saria asked, looking up confusedly at the large tree standing before her. She was sitting down in front of the large tree, legs crossed and waiting for the tree to respond to her question.

"Saria, where did you hear that word?" The Deku Tree asked worriedly. The large tree deity couldn't believe that Saria heard that word, surely the other sages Saria had mentioned before wouldn't dare say that to a mere child?

"I heard about it from Nabooru. I asked Link what it meant, but all he told me it was that it was a bad word. Is it a bad word?" Saria replied, the confusion on her face slipping away to be replaced with worry.

"Saria, Link is right. You should never repeat it, especially in front of the other Kokiri. It would be wrong for them to learn that word," It gravely said.

"Is sex that bad a word?" She asked, twisting her hands worriedly as she glanced down.

"Yes, it is a terrible word. My dear, will you promise me you will never repeat it again,"

"Okay, Great Deku Tree. I pro…"

"Saria! Saria!" A frantic yell interrupted Saria. She turned to see Mido come racing towards her. He skidded to a halt before he crashed into her, gave a bow to the Deku Tree, then panted for a couple of minutes before he was able to talk again.

"Saria! There are two strange tall people at the entrance of the village! One of them is asking for you! Hurry, we have to go before they do something!" Mido yelled loudly, hopping up and down in an effort to help Saria understand the urgency of the situation. Saria noticed a bright red mark in the shape of a hand on Mido's left cheek and guessed he was panicked because the person had smacked him.

"I am sorry, Great Deku Tree! I must go and see what Mido is talking about, but I'll be back!" Saria called as she jumped up and followed Mido out of the meadow. The large tree sighed and hoped that the kokiri girl would not repeat the word.

* * *

Nabooru stared at all the children swarmed around her, all of them wearing expressions of fear, worry, and anger. She thought it might have been because she smacked that one boy who had approached her. But, he deserved it for trying to hit her with a stick and telling her that she had no right being in their forest. She was only passing through their village, not attempting to conquer it. She would have nothing to gain from controlling the forest anyways, it did not seem to hold anything secretive or of any value.

"Nabooru? What are you doing here?" She suddenly heard a familiar voice and Saria pushed through the crowd of children. The boy she had smacked earlier huddled behind the girl, glaring venomously up at her from behind the green-haired girl.

"I'm here to find Link," Nabooru replied with a wide grin. A look of horror flickered on Saria's face, but it was hidden with false confusion.

"Link hasn't been back for a long time, Nabooru. I told you that a while ago. What makes you think he is here?" Saria asked impatiently.

"I know he is here, Saria, so that cute confused expression is useless. Now, tell me where he is," Nabooru asked again.

"I don't know where he is, Nabooru. Stop asking me for the answers to questions I can't help you with," Saria growled, crossing her arms as if it was her final decision to not tell Nabooru.

"Saria, do you see my horse over there?" Nabooru asked. Sarai looked and saw Nabooru's horse nibbling on the grass near the gate.

"How did you get him past the gates?" Sarai asked in genuine confusion. Nabooru grimaced at the memory of her the arduous effort it took to get the horse through the first gate, let alone the bridge and the second gate.

"A lot of shoving and cursing, but that's not the point. See that girl sitting next the horse?" Nabooru continued. Sure enough, a steaming-red Malon was sitting next to the horse, glaring at Nabooru with pure hatred gleaming in her eyes.

"If you don't show me where Link is, I'm going to hurt her. Do you understand?" Nabooru asked sweetly. Several of the children around them opened their mouths to say something, but a quick dangerous glance from Saria silenced them. The girl stood there; fidgeting while she looked at Malon, at Nabooru, then back to Malon.

"…Fine, follow me. Don't get lost," Saria answered sadly, she turned and started walking away. Nabooru smiled before walking towards Viento. Viento watched her approach with eager eyes, he had already forgiven his master for forcing him through the gates and across the bridge.

"Stay here, boy," She whispered as she pulled Malon to her feet. The horse shook his head as if in annoyance and snorted into her face before wandering hungrily towards a large patch of grass. Nabooru smiled to herself as she dragged Malon through the crowd of silent children to catch up to Saria. The children shifted aside, staring in worry and shock as the trio walked towards the Lost Woods.

* * *

"Ow!" Nabooru yelled as a bunch of sticks landed on her head. She heard childish laughter above her and looked up to see two sets of angry yellow eyes. The eyes blinked back at her before vanishing into the protective leaves and tree limbs.

"Saria, tell them to stop!" She yelled as a nearby bush rustled and a handful of pebbles and stones were thrown at her feet, the tiny rocks scattering before they managed to reach them. She wanted dearly to see who was foolish enough to attack her, but dusk was fading to night and her eyes were not fully adjusted to the dark oppressing shadows the numerous trees cast around them.

"Don't mind the Skull Children, they are those that become lost and ensnared by the forest's magic. Don't stray too far behind," Saria replied curtly, glancing around before continuing on. Then, one on the skull kids jumped into the path, looking at Nabooru with angry gleaming eyes before focusing on Saria.

"Who's the old woman, Saria? She should not be here," He asked.

"How dare you call me a old woman, you bastard!" Nabooru yelled, letting go of Malon and pulling out her sword. Before she could attack, it leapt upwards to the safety of a tree and laughed.

"Nabooru?" Nabooru spun and glared at Saria. The younger girl jumped, frightened by Nabooru's sudden movements. The Gerudo sighed and put her sword back into its sheath.

"Sorry, continue on," Nabooru replied. Saria nodded and started walking again. For a couple of minutes, they listened to the sounds of the forest, the leaves playing in the wind, the sound of their footsteps, Malon's dragging feet, and the skull kids' malicious laughter around them. Then, Saria suddenly thought of something.

"Nabooru?"

"Yeah?"

"What's a bastard?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait, I've been incredibly busy with various activities. Here is Chapter Five.**

* * *

As Saria led Nabooru deeper into the Lost Woods, a sense of expectancy fumed in her stomach. She could sense that she was going in the right direction, but the feeling of the forest watching her and the constant noises from the animals and the wind was annoying. She wanted to find Link and return to the fortress as soon as possible.

"We're here, Nabooru," Sarai said flatly as she came to a halt. Nabooru looked to see a large iron gate with the entrance to a tall leafy maze behind it.

"I can see why he's hiding here. He wears green all the time, so he must blend in with the trees," Nabooru snickered as she pushed open the iron gates. They swung open, creaking loudly as they swept away from them. Nabooru glared at the gates, although they did nothing but seem to make her more agitated. Saria ignored Nabooru's reaction to the noise and continued on, leading them through the maze and to a large open meadow. A temple towered over the meadow. The entrance made of old gray stone and its stairs laying in a jumbled mess of stone and mortar at the base.

"So this is the Forest Temple. What happened to the stairs?" Nabooru asked as she walked over to a stump and deposited Malon on it.

"I'm not exactly sure, it's always been like that. I won't lead you through the temple," Saria sniffed, sitting down next to the stump and crossing her arms defiantly. Nabooru smiled at the girl's remark.

"That's fine with me. You can stay out here, if you want. Don't untie the girl," Nabooru replied as she looked over the remains of the stairs. She noticed a vine hanging from the tree that stood on the remains of the stairs and judged that that she could reach it and scale the wall with it if she jumped. She found a large stone, stood on it, and leapt. She missed and struck the wall, but managed to catch a hold of it on her second jump. After making sure the vine wouldn't snap while she climbed, she scaled the jagged stone wall and reached the entrance to the temple. Stifling a laugh, she walked into the temple.

* * *

Once the Gerudo had vanished into the temple where Link was hiding, Malon tried to break the ropes that were binding her. The girl that had led them there, whose name Malon had forgotten in her anger, looked up at her.

"Are you Link's friend?" She asked timidly. Malon nodded, hoping the girl would ignore the Gerudo's order and untie her. The girl looked away for a minute and stared at the temple before she looked back up at her. She stood up.

"Nabooru says I shouldn't untie you, but those ropes look painful…" She started when a leather pouch that the girl was wearing began squeaking and moving. She giggled and untied the pouch, allowing her fairy to escape the pouch.

"Saria! That was not at all nice! Why did you shove me in there! It smells terrible in there; you should get a new pouch! How long was I asleep?" The fairy yelled angrily, fluttering around her head in agitation. Saria rolled her eyes and seemed to ignore her fairy's rant. The fairy, when she was finished yelling, landed on top of the girl's green hair and noticed Malon.

"Who's she? Why's she tied up like that? She's tied up! Untie her! Was this another one of Mido's stupid games?" It began yelling again, leaping back up into the air to fly around Malon's head. The bright light zooming around her head quickly annoyed Malon, but her annoyance was overwhelmed by her delight at the knowledge that she now had a good chance at getting free.

"Please stop shouting. Nabooru says I shouldn't…" Saria mumbled.

"Who's Nabooru? You said her name before. Is she a friend? That's doesn't matter, just untie her already! Those knots look painful!" The fairy interrupted.

* * *

As Nabooru went deeper into the temple, she noticed how musty the air was. The air reeked of mildew and decomposition. Nabooru grimaced, wondering how Link could stay in the temple, as she continued walking down the corridor. After a minute of walking, she reached a large antechamber, where she could see movement inside. Without a second of hesitation, she pressed herself against the wall to hide in the shadows of the corridor and pulled out her scimtar. Link would be prepared for a fight, she was sure of that. She scanned the room for him, catching a flash of green and saw him sitting in the shadow of a flickering torch. She might not have noticed him had the flickering lights not startled her. He was polishing his sword, his pack lying beside him in the flickering light. With a grin, she quietly stalked forward. If she kept him from noticing her, she had a chance of subduing him without a fight. She waited until one of her feet stepped into the light, and then she dashed to one of the torches. She leapt over the steps and rushed to the pillar, pressing her back against the stone pillar and holding her scimitar to her chest to keep it from striking the stone. She listened carefully, her breath calm as she waited to hear if she had been spotted. He didn't seem to have noticed her approach. Careful to keep her head in the shadows, she peered around to judge the next dash when something unexpected and unwanted surprised them both.

"LINK! LOOK OUT!"

The panicked voice of the farm-girl reverberated in the room. Link flinched at the loud shriek and looked around the room, checking to see if the scream had been from someone lurking nearby. Nabooru jumped in surprise, sending her into the light and exposing her. Link turned and spotted her. He scowled as he threw down the cleaning rag and stood up in preparation to fight. Nabooru cursed the farm-girl as she ran towards him. His sword swept out to intercept her, she blocked it with her scimitar. The two swords screeched as they were knocked away from each other. Link recovered quicker, swiping towards her face. With a curse, she ducked to avoid being beheaded. She swept her weapon at her sword, planning to knock the sword from his hand. However, he pulled the sword back and her scimitar arced to strike the floor. A painful jolt raced up her arm and the cold tip of Link's sword pressed against her throat.

"Nabooru," Link said flatly. Nabooru grimaced at the thought of her stupidity when something else interrupted.

"Hey! Link! Where are you? Link!" A shrill voice called as a fairy came in. Link's sword quickly withdrew and Nabooru saw a look of fear come to his face.

"…Navi?" He mumbled, glancing around for the source of the voice. Nabooru ducked down and kicked upwards. Her kick hit his hand, sending the sword flying and making him wince in surprise. She kicked out again, this time towards his legs. He toppled over, landing painfully on the stone floor. He tried to regain his footing, but she knocked him down again and grabbed his shoulder. His hand shot out, catching her on the jaw. She was knocked back, but got up and pinned him down.

"Sweet dreams," She yelled, pulling out a rag that she and her sisters prepared in the days before the start of the hunt. She pressed it onto his face, gaining several bites as he struggled to throw her off. However, after several minutes, the medicine finally kicked in and he fell limp. With a sigh, she pulled the rag off and stood up, a warm feeling of childish joy bubbling at the pit of her stomach. She had succeeded in finding Link and subduing him, now was the triumphant return to the fortress.


	6. Chapter 6

Malon grimaced as she felt Saria try to untie her wrists, her tiny nails digging into Malon's skin in the effort to unwind the tough knot.

"I'm sorry. This is hard. She tied this knot really tight!" She heard the girl groan. Then, the sound of high-pitched angry screams and slow footsteps made them both stop. Nabooru came out of the temple, an unconscious Link was draped on her shoulder and she was holding something bright and blue in her left hand. With an annoyed frown, she let Link fall to the meadow floor, jumping down after him. Malon felt Saria flinch as Link hit the floor, the younger girl quietly muttered something unintelligible but obviously sad.

"Saria, I think this _thing_ belongs to you," Nabooru hissed angrily, walking over to Saria and holding out the clenched hand. Saria held out her hand timidly, staring at the bright light leaking out between Nabooru's clenched knuckles, and the Gerudo opened her hand to let a furious blue fairy fall down from her hand to land on Saria's palm. The fairy flailed around on Saria's hand before it figured out it had stopped falling.

"_**Nabooru! How could you do this? I finally decided to meet up with Link again, he must have missed me so much, and you… You**_…" The fairy screamed up at the Gerudo, her high-pitched voice making everyone in the vicinity scowl as their ears rang and still unconcious Link twitch.

"She's not mine, this must be Link's fairy," Saria replied, ignoring the fairy's rant.

"Stop shouting!" Saria's fairy shouted angrily from her perch in Saria's hair. The shout startled the other fairy, who immediatly stopped shouting at Nabooru. Nabooru glanced between the angry fairy perched on Saria's hand to Saria's fairy before she shook her head in annoyance.

"Gah, keep her then. I will not have that thing screaming in my ear the whole trip back home. I need to go. You can untie her if you wish, but don't even think about following," Nabooru huffed before storming back to Link's crumpled form. With strained effort, she hoisted him onto her shoulder and started walking off towards the exit, muttering angrily under her breath about how heavy he weighed.

"What is going on, Saria? I came back to Hyrule because the Great Deku Tree said I needed to return and help Link, but I get here and that Gerudo woman knocked Link unconscious! Did he grow so weak while I was gone? How rude of him, being depressed about me leaving. Hey, listen! Listen to me!" The fairy yelled as Saria ignored her and began untying Malon's knots again.

"I remember you, you were that annoying fairy that kept bugging him about something when we first met in Castletown," Malon growled, glaring at the fairy.

"Oh yeah, you were that girl who lost her father. You were distracting Link, he had to go to the castle immediately," The fairy replied, her voice quieting for a moment while she landed on Malon's knee.

"Distracting him with a conversation, which included asking him to find my father_ at the castle_. Oh yes, it is _so_ distracting," Malon retorted as the knots on her wrists finally became loose. With a grin, she pulled her hands free from the ropes. Her wrists were red from where the ropes had rubbed roughly against her skin. After rubbing her hands to warm them up again, she began untying her ankles.

"This is my fault. It is all my fault…" Saria sniffed, sitting down on the grass beside Malon.

"No, it's not your fault, sweetie! Don't blame yourself for this," Malon said as she untied her ankles and rubbed the red bruises forming from the chafing ropes.

"Yes it is! She guessed he was here because of me! I'm such a bastard!" Saria howled. Malon stopped at Saria and stared at her with mixed confusion and amusement.

"Uh, you really should not call yourself a bastard. It's usually an insult thrown at others," Malon replied. Saria sniffed and looked down towards her feet.

"But, it's my fault…" Saria muttered again, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"What happened has happened, there's no need to fret over it now. What we should be doing is thinking about how to fix the problem before something worse happens to Link," Malon replied. Saria sniffed, then nodded her head and looked up at Malon.

"So, why is Nabooru looking for Link?" Saria asked, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them.

"There is a festival going on, called the Wild Hunt. Nabooru received Link as her prey, so she was to hunt him down and bring him back to the Fortress. If we don't get to him in time, he'll be… something bad will happen," Malon replied, thinking about their options. Breaking into the fortress for a rescue; that was asking for trouble. Getting help from the Princess; already out of the question.

"How bad?" Saria asked worriedly.

"Erm, just something bad. I'm not really sure what," Malon stated, hoping that her face wasn't turning red from the lie. However, the girl nodded and thought about what Malon had said.

"Could we switch Link out with someone who looks like him?" Saria asked.

"Well, that's a interesting idea, but I don't know anyone who looks like him," Malon replied.

"Hey…"

"There must be someone in that town you said you first met Link in. Could you ask around and see if anyone can help us?" Saria said.

"Listen…"

"I do not think there would be many men willing to follow us into the Gerudo Fortress, especially during the Wild Hunt. We would be extremely lucky to find a man out on the street, let alone someone who looks like Link," Malon replied with a disgruntled sigh.

"Listen to me! I said listen to me!" The fairy screamed, bouncing up and down on Malon's knee in fury. Malon resisted the urge to flick the fairy off her knee and glared down at it.

"Can't you be quiet?" Malon growled.

"I was trying to say I might know someone we can trick into replacing Link, but I guess you have this _all under control_," The fairy sniffed, her voice laced with anger and annoyance.

"You know someone who can help us? Where is he?" Saria asked, holding out her hand to the fairy. It sighed, but clambered onto the girl's hand and sat on her palm.

"I want an apology from her before I say anything else," The fairy huffed, her wings fluttering in agitation. Malon scowled, but remained quiet.

"No, I am not apologizing to you," Malon growled, glaring down at the fairy. The fairy pretended to ignore her, although a quiet scoff managed to escape. The noise didn't surprise Malon, but the sob that suddenly escaped Saria did. Malon looked towards the girl to see that her face had turned light red and a tear was slipping down her cheek.

"Hey, you don't need to cry about it," Malon said. Saria's red cheeks darkened when Malon mentioned the word cry.

"Please, just say that you are sorry. We don't need to argue," Saria mumbled as she wiped away the tear. Malon stared at the little girl before turning back to the fairy. The fairy continued to ignore her.

"…I am sorry," Malon replied through gritted teeth, imagining smashing the fairy underneath her feet as she said it. The fairy's wings stopped fluttering in agitation, a sign that it had accepted the apology.

"See, isn't that much better? We don't need to be enemies," The fairy giggled.

"Just tell us where he is," Malon hissed, glancing at Saria to make sure she wasn't still crying about the argument. The girl's face lightened considerably and she smiled weakly at Malon before returning her attention to the fairy.

"All right, I'll tell you where the person is. He doesn't like Link, he might not even listen to us, but he is our best bet if we want to help Link. Follow me!" The fairy yelled, leaping from Saria's palm and flying towards the exit.

"Let's go, then!" Saria shouted as she pushed herself up to her feet and ran after the fairy. Malon looked around the meadow before sighing and standing up. Her feet were unsteady for a moment, but she recovered herself and started running after the green-haired girl.

* * *

Nabooru smiled, leaving the forest was quicker than the trek to the temple. Once she reached the village Saria lived at, she swatted a small crowd of curious children away from her horse and threw Link onto the horse. After making sure he wouldn't fall from the saddle during the journey back to the fortress, she calmly dragged her horse through the gate, across the bridge, and through the second gate into the entrance to Hyrule Field. Viento didn't appreciate having to go through the gates and across the bridge a second time, but he soon forgot about his anger against Nabooru once he noticed the wide expanse of Hyrule Field past the last of the trees.

"I'm sorry about dragging you into the forest. You'll have lots of tasty treats back at the fortress, okay?," Nabooru told the horse as she rubbed the horse's side. His ears flickered back for a moment before he looked back and nuzzled his face against her own face, accepting the apology and the promise of tasty treats.

"Let's go back to the Fortress, Viento!" She yelled, her mood soaring at her horse's response and the thrill of success. Viento snorted and waved his mane as she leapt onto his back. As soon as the horse felt his master sitting securely on his back, he burst into a gallop past the forest's edge and out onto the vast Hyrule Field.


	7. Chapter 7

Nabooru's smile vanished as Viento galloped across Hyrule Field towards the Gerudo Fortress. She glanced up at the night sky, the stars twinkling down towards the earth and the thin sliver of moon sitting serenely near the western horizon. As she gazed at the moon, a sense of ease formed in the bottom of her stomach. She turned and cast a glance towards Link, who was still unconscious. Her sense of ease vanished and was soon replaced with worry. Now that she had acquired her prey, her mission was to return without losing her prey. She had little fear of Link getting lost, unless he fell off the horse or learned to teleport without using his silly ocarina, but a strange feeling of unease kept creeping in. Her sisters often told stories about Hyrule Field during the night, stories of poes attempting to eat the souls of unwary travelers and skeletons rising from their lost graves to sate their blood-thirst. Those stories seemed insignificant before, but now that she had to keep Link safe. She was snapped out of her thoughts of her sisters' stories when she noticed a boulder ahead of her. The boulder was of no interest, but the strange mist hovering near the boulder worried her.

"It must be a poe..." She hissed with distaste, she never liked poes. Poes were frequent nuisances when it became necessary to cross the desert. While there is a singular poe who led travelers through the desert, many lost souls also wanted to lead travelers to their demise. With a sigh of irritation, she gently nudged Viento's side with her right ankle. Viento snorted and shook his mane in irritation, but began drifting towards the right. Nabooru watched the boulder as they passed by it, wary about the poe.

Then, she heard a loud crunch. She quickly called Viento to slow and looked around, trying to see where the sound had come from. She looked behind to notice a strange object nearby. The strange object was white streaked with brown, the top of the object was crushed in the image of a hoof. She stared at it, trying to apply a word to the strange object, when it shifted to the side. The word immediately came to her tongue, bringing a bitter taste to her mouth.

"Stalchild," She growled. Viento screamed and reared in suprise, hoofs striking out as if to ward off anyone thinking about attacking him. Nabooru yelled as Link slipped from the saddle, sliding down Viento's side to land on the earth with a sickening thud.

"Calm, Viento! Calm!" Nabooru yelled as she untied her scimitar from the saddle. Instead of calming down as he was supposed to, Viento screamed again and started running. When she realized that he wasn't listening to her, she leapt from the saddle in Link's direction. Her feet slipped from under her, sending her tumbling until she came to a halt on her back. Nabooru stared upwards, dazed from the fall when she felt something curl around her ankle. The touch jolted her out of her daze and she kicked out at it. Her foot connected with something and it crunched under her foot. She pushed herself up on her elbows and bit her lip to keep from screaming. The empty skull glared back at her, the jaw crushed. It had an iron grip on her ankle, it's other arm was trying to push itself out of the dirt to get at her. She kicked out again, this time catching the arm. It snapped in two, forcing the creature to let her go.

"Dammit," She swore angrily as she stood up. She looked around, noticing more creatures freeing themselves from the earth and stumbling towards her. She noticed Link a couple of feet away from her and her scimitar was close to the one-armed creature. She dashed for the scimitar, avoiding a slash from the enraged creature and grabbed it. The blade shone as she swung it towards the nearest creature. The blade smashed into the chest, causing the creature to thrash before collapsing and sinking slowly back into the earth.

"Why now?" She hissed as she dashed back to Link. She quickly counted up the creatures surrounding them, discovering that there were twelve stalchidlren surrounding them. She swung towards the closest one, missing it's skull. The creature did not flinch, but lunged forward and slashed at her. She leapt back and swung again. The scimitar caught the hand, slicing it off. However, it did not stall the creature's approach. She stabbed foward, this time connecting just underneath the jaw. It shuddered and collapsed, reducing the number of creatures to eleven.

"Who's next? Come on!" She hissed under her breath, prepared to swipe at the next creature. The creatures stared dumbly at her before two of them lunged towards them. She cleaved the head off the first child and swept towards the second one. The creature leapt forward, avoiding the blade and smashing into her. She screamed as she fell on her back, her breath forced from her lungs from the fall and her scimitar jolted out of her hand. The creature stumbled backwards, but kept it's balance. Nabooru took a shaky breath, ignoring the pain that came with the breath and noticing her scimitar nearby. She reached for it, watching the stalchild coming towards her again from the corner of her eye. Her fingers brushed against the leather handle of the scimitar, but she could not get a grip on the scimitar.

Then, a bellowing scream broke Nabooru's concentration and she looked towards the noise. The stalchild turned to the noise and hoofs landed on its skull, driving the creature into the ground. Nabooru sighed in relief, causing Viento to look towards her. It stared at her with his warm brown eyes and he looked down in obvious shame. In spite of herself, she smiled. Then, she realized that there were still more creatures and pushed herself to her feet. She grabbed her scimitar and ran towards where she had left Link. The stalchildren were slowly surrounding him, the closest a couple of feet from his limp form. She dashed to the creature, swinging her scimitar with an angry yell on her lips. The creature turned and was cleaved in half, falling into shambles from the blow. She spun to face the others, prepared to attack them. The war cry on her lips died as she noticed that more creatures were pulling themselves free from the earth, adding to their numbers. She knew she didn't have the energy to battle all of them.

Then, the creatures stopped their advance, looking over her shoulder towards the horizon. She took the chance to look, curious to see what could halt them. She saw the sun rising beyond Death Mountain and quickly looked away, not daring to stare at the sun. A low hiss came from behind her and she spun, bringing her weapon upwards. She stared at the creatures, noticing that the creatures were desperately clawing at the earth. They sank into the earth, retreating from the sun. She remained motionless for a couple of seconds, then she sighed with relief. Warm fur pressed against her side and she smiled.

"Thanks for coming back, Viento," She whispered. The horse looked back at her and blew his hot sticky breath across her face. She smiled as she pushed his head away from her face. She carefully tied her scimitar to the saddle and walked towards Link. She felt relieved when she noticed that he had remained unharmed, she worried that the creatures might have attacked him. She dragged him upwards, struggling to lift him. After some effort, she finally got Link back onto the horse. She lifted herself onto Viento's back, making sure not to sit on Link.

"Let's go home," She said. Viento snorted and broke into a brisk trot.


	8. Chapter 8

Kokori Village was silent in the early hours of the morning; most of the children that resided in the village were asleep. Malon leaned her head against her knees and stared around the peaceful surroundings. Malon had wanted to go find the person the fairy had mentioned yesterday, but Saria was convinced by her fellow Kokiri to talk to the Great Deku Tree about the best option. Saria had been with the Great Deku Tree the whole night, leaving Malon to answer the children's questions about her life. When they decided to head to bed, they told her they brought her to the house Saria lived in and told her that it would be best to wait there until Saria came back.

"Hey, why are you up so early?" The fairy squeaked, fluttering from her resting place on the windowsill to land on her shoulder. Malon sighed, wondering how Link refrained from sticking the fairy into a bottle.

"When you live on the ranch, you have to get up when the sun rises so that you can work all day," Malon replied. The fairy laughed, her laugh changing into a yell of anger as Malon brushed her off of her shoulder.

"What's taking the little girl so long? We are wasting time," Malon growled.

"The Great Deku Tree probably some very important advice for her, just wait," Navi growled.

"Yes, I will listen to the advice of someone who yells _Hey, Listen,_ every five minutes," Malon muttered under her breath.

"See, there's Saria! Hey, over here!" The fairy called, flying away towards the green-haired girl. The girl let Navi land on her shoulder and continued walking until she reached Malon. Once she reached Malon, she sat down on the grass and sighed.

"I am sorry it took so long, the Great Deku Tree was reprimanding me because I said the word bastard. There are a lot of words I cannot use: sex, bastard…" Saria mumbled.

"He reprimanded you all night?" Malon replied in astonishment.

"Well, no. I took a nap while he was scolding me and when I woke up, I asked him for advice on saving Link. He does agree that we should help Link and that Navi should lead us. She would know how to get through the Fortress and help us find him," Saria continued. Navi snickered, as if she was had expected it.

"Well, let's get going!" Malon replied as she stood up, pulling Saria to her feet. They walked to the entrance to the village and past the sleeping child who was supposed to be keeping guard. AS they started awlking across the bridge, Saria stopped nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Malon asked, looking back at her. The girl smiled and shook her head. Malon smiled back and offered a hand, the girl timidly took it and they continued across the bridge. When they reached the edge of the forest, Saria stopped in her tracks, clutching at Malon's hand.

"What's wrong?" Malon asked.

"I'm scared," She replied, looking out at the field with eyes bright with both fear and curiosity.

"What are you scared of?"

"The Great Deku Tree warned us that we were not to leave the forest. But, he said that I could go because…" Saria mumbled, her sentence trailing off as she scanned the field beyond the trees.

"You don't have to come," Malon replied. Saria looked up at her, and then she opened the pouch hanging at her side. A bright light zoomed out and Malon realized that Saria had trapped her fairy inside the pouch like she had before.

"Saria, how many times must I tell you that you need a new bag? It reeks in there," The fairy coughed as it landed on her shoulder. Saria ignored the fairy and pulled out a strange green medallion.

"No, I need to. Link has helped me out with my problems so many times," Saria mumbled, looking over the field.

"Saria? What are you talking about? Wait, no!" The fairy screamed as the girl closed her eyes took a step past the trees.

Malon could see the girl's shoulder shaking as she stood in the spot, waiting for something bad to happen. When a minute passed by and nothing did, she looked around in surprise.

"It worked! It worked just like the Great Deku Tree said!" Saria laughed. She dropped the medallion into her pouch and took a few more steps away from the forest.

"Sarai, stop acting so stupid and get back inside the forest!" The fairy screeched as Saria continued to walk forward. Malon smiled and walked into the sunshine.

"So, where do we go first, Navi?" Saria called back, her face brightened with a wide smile.

"I thought the Kokiri couldn't leave the forest?" Navi asked, fluttering towards Saria and landing on her hair.

"I got special permission from the Great Deku…" Saria replied.

"Saria!" A frantic scream called to them. Saria froze and spun towards the forest, recognizing the voice.

"No, Mido!" She screamed, racing back towards the forest. Malon turned to see the young boy from yesterday run into the sunlight

For a few moments, he ran towards Saria with a look of terror on his face. The terror on his face vanished once he had taken a few steps and he froze.

"Mido!" Saria screeched as she reached the boy, reaching out to grab the boy. He made a sickening croak and collapsed.

"No, Mido!" She shrieked as she knelt next to the boy, cradling him in her arms.

"Is he still breathing?" Malon shouted as she ran over. Saria tried to speak between sobs, but she couldn't.

"Saraia, is this because he left the forest?" Malon yelled as she grabbed at the boy's wrist. The boy started shaking violently and Malon had to hold on tight in order to pin his arm. A faint but frantic pulse beated beneath her palm.

"...Yes..." Sarai managed to sputter through her sobs.

"Move, then!" Malon shouted. Sarai stared in astonishment at her, but Malon ignored it as she brushed the girl aside and picked up the boy. She staggered to her feet, trying to adjust to the boy's weight and keep her balance. The boy shuddered and vomited, sticky liquid splashing onto her front. Malon ignored the boy and the new smell as she ran for the forest. She ran until she reahced the shadows of the trees, setting the boy down gently. He heaved again, liquid dripping from his mouth.

"C'mon kid," Malon muttered, debating the next option. She knew nothing about healing people, her skills were for horses and cuccos.

"Kid, how do we help him?" Malon screamed, looking back to see the girl standing next to her. Her eyes were wide with terror and hands shaking as she watched one of her fellow kokiri suffer.

"Saria!" Malon shouted, pulling Saria out of her trance. She knelt beside the boy, pulling him gently into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Mido," She whispered.

"Okay, then I'll go for the other children!" Malon shouted as she struggled to her feet. Saria watched Malon dash into the woods and looked back down at Mido.

"_When the trees are green and the birds all sing, we shall have a picnic beside the spring_," Saria sang softly, using the same lullaby she sang to . The boy quieted in her arms.

"_We'll play and dance and sing with our kin, playing with our friends and the lost children_," She continued, oblivious to Mido's change. Her song was halted as she heard footsteps and looked up to see Malon, accompanied by most of the Kokiri, skidded to a halt.

"Brother!" A girl shrieked, launching herself towards them. The girl knelt beside them, pulling Mido away from Saria.

"Wake up," She sobbed. Malon looked at the boy and noticed that his face was no longer pale and his breath no longer desperate. She sighed and leaned against a nearby tree in relief.


	9. Chapter 9

Once again, Malon found herself sitting in front of Saria's house, watching the crowd of children gathered near a house on the far side of the little town. The occasional Kokiri turned and glared at her, accusing eyes boring at her before the child would turn away and attempt to look into the small windows of the house. Malon sighed and smoothed out a wrinkle on her damp but clean dress. Malon tried to ignore the emotions bubbling forth: annoyance at not having gone anywhere after their original departure two hours ago, a sick feeling to the stomach after witnessing what had happened to the little boy, and resentment towards the children glaring at her.

"I hope Mido is okay, even if he is a rotten bully," The fairy remarked as she landed on Malon's shoulder. Malon ignored the fairy.

"Aren't you worried about him? You should go and see if Saria needs any help," Navi asked, taking a strand of Malon's red hair and pulling it.

"Shut up," She growled. The fairy huffed angrily and let go of Malon's hair. Navi leapt from Malon's shoulder and flew towards the small house, fluttering near the window.

"Excuse me, tall lady," A timid voice startled Malon and she turned to see a brunette girl staring at her. The girl stared down at her hands and Malon noticed that the girl was holding a steaming wooden cup.

"Hello," Malon replied. The girl froze, but shook her head and held out the wooden cup towards her.

"You looked cold. I saw you wash your dress in the creek and thought this might help," The girl mumbled. Malon smiled and took the cup.

"What is your name?" Malon asked as she cautiously sipped the liquid. The boiling liquid was tea, the taste of nuts and honey tickled Malon's throat.

"Temal, tall lady. What is your name?" Temal asked nervously, holding out her right hand. For a moment, Malon wondered if she wanted the cup back. However, a bright pink fairy landed on her hand and sat on the girl's palm.

"My name is Malon. Thank you for the tea," Malon replied. The girl blushed bright red and stared at her bare feet.

"You are welcome. I think it's mean of the others, not offering you any tea. You helped Mido when he got sick and…" Temal replied.

"They probably blame me for what happened to him," Malon muttered.

"Why would they blame you? Yes, you are a tall person and an outsider, but that does not mean anything," Temal answered, looking up from her feet to stare at Malon.

"Thank you for the tea, I think I should leave now," Malon replied sullenly. She stood up and handed the girl back the cup.

"Why are you leaving?" The girl asked in surprise.

"It was nice meeting you, Temal. Goodbye," Malon answered, walking towards the entrance that led towards Hyrule Field. A couple of the children were drawn away from the house and stared at her. Malon tried to ignore them as she walked out. She stepped through the large entrance and started walking across the bridge.

"Wait!" Malon stopped and turned to see Temal running across the bridge.

"If you leave…then they will blame…you for what…happened…" The girl spoke between ragged breaths.

"They blame me already, why would leaving make a difference. Besides, I need to call for Epona so that I can get her ready," Malon replied.

"Who's Epona?" Temal asked curiously.

"Never mind Temal, if you go then no more tall people will be permitted inside Kokiri Village," The fairy stated.

"So I should stay so that people can come and go?" Malon asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"If you won't do it for travelers, do it for that strange tall-man that came earlier. He visits Saria sometimes and I think he would get upset if he was driven away from the forest," The fairy replied. Malon frowned; she had forgotten that Link came from the forest.

"Hey! There you are, why are you here?" A shrill angry yell came from the entrance and Malon's frown deepened as the blue fairy zoomed from the exit.

"I was hiding from you," Malon retorted.

"Stupid farm-girl," The fairy growled angrily. Malon heard another set of footsteps and saw Saria come racing out.

"Mido finally fell back asleep. I am so sorry, but I had to make him wake up and forget that he had left the forest. Now he will be saying that he was single-handedly fighting off three Stalfos that had attacked us until he was poisoned by a…" Saria called as she came running forward.

"Mido left the forest?" Temal yelped. Saria glared at the girl.

"Temal, could you forget about what I just said?" Saria asked.

"Y-yes! I will forget what you said! I'm sorry," Temal stuttered, looking at Saria with wide fearful eyes. Then, Saria smiled widely.

"Gotcha! Don't worry, Temal. It is just a game that Mido and I were playing. We were pretending to leave the forest and he ate something bad. Don't tell anyone though, okay? Mido doesn't want people to know about that," Saria giggled. Temal beamed at Saria, nodded, and ran back to the village.

"Temal is so easily convinced, thank goodness. We should go," Saria said as she turned to Malon. Malon nodded once, glanced to the entrance where the girl had vanished, and walked away towards Hyrule Field.

* * *

Nabooru grimaced as she felt Link shift in his position behind her. She knew she was lucky that he had remained asleep for so long. She once had her prey wake up while she was riding towards Gerudo Fortress and he attacked her. She looked at the walls of brown rock that towered over the trail leading to the fortress and felt a twinge of relief that Link had not wakened yet. Viento snorted as the wooden bridge across the river came into view. Three Gerudo girls, all too young to join in the hunt, were standing guard at the other end of the bridge.

"How goes it, sisters?" Nabooru called. The three girls looked towards her and broke into a smile, one running forward to meet with Nabooru.

"The fortress is as secure as when you left, Nabooru. You are the third to return from the Hunt," The girl called up as she started walking beside Viento. Viento turned his head and huffed at her, but the girl ignored him.

"Third, that is certainly interesting. Would any of them be the ones that are coming to age?" Nabooru asked.

"One of them happens to be, Nabooru," The girl answered, a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you. Return to your post," Nabooru responded. The girl nodded and dashed back to her post. Nabooru grinned as she slowed Viento to a halt. She leapt from his back and gently led him up the trail towards the fortress. As the Fortress came into view, a chorus of female voices rang and two Gerudos came running out to meet her. One was the guard, a delighted smile on her face, and the second was an elderly woman who as too old to participate in the Wild Hunt.

"Welcome back, Nabooru," The elder called, her thick rough voice made Nabooru smile.

"Thank you for welcoming me back, elder," Nabooru replied as she bowed slightly to the elder.

"I will take your horse, since our horse-keeper is still hunting down her prey. After you bring your prey into the fortress, you should head for the baths," The elder woman said.

"I shall follow your advice, elder," Nabooru replied as she pulled Link from Viento's saddle.

"You are in luck, Nabooru. The baths are cool today," The guard stated. Nabooru's smile widened, cool water was hard to come by with being so near to the desert.

"Thank you for assisting my horse, elder. May the Lady of the Sun guide your path," Nabooru said respectively to the elderly woman. The woman nodded before leading Viento away.

"Good day, sister," Nabooru said to the guard. The guard smiled before walking back to her post. Nabooru looked towards the blue sky and smiled. She began walking towards the Gerudo Fortress, content that she had completed her task and the thought of rest buzzing at the back of her mind.


	10. Chapter 10

After Nabooru had secured Link in the holding cell for the prey, she walked down the stone corridors towards the bath. Several Gerudo girls passed her by, calling out happy greetings to her before hurrying on to their duties. Nabooru returned their greetings and smiled, glad to be back in the fortress. After ten minutes of walking and greeting the Gerudos that passed her by, she reached the baths. She noticed that someone one was singing, something that usually happens when there is only one person that occupies the bath, and walked in to see whom it was.

"Hello, sister!" She called out, looking to see who was inside. The large pool that acted as the Gerudo's communal bath was still for a moment, until a girl leaning against the edge of the pool jumped.

"Nabooru! You scared me," She called out, looking sheepishly up at Nabooru. Nabooru noticed that the girl was Versa; her usually bright face was marred with a dark blue bruise that enveloped the right of her face and a red-scabbed gash from her shoulder to her belly button.

"My apologies, Versa, I am surprised you came back so quickly. Did your hunt go well?" Nabooru called as she walked over to a bench nearby.

"I found my prey really quick, but he had a wife who went completely ballistic when I came at him. I think she destroyed all her precious dishware in hopes to make me leave her house," Nabooru heard Versa mumble as Nabooru pulled off her clothing.

"Wives can be rather troublesome if you are unprepared for them. I am surprised that you had to deal with a wife for your initiation," Nabooru replied.

"How was your hunt, Nabooru? Versa called as Nabooru walked to the edge and sat down. Chilly water lapped around Nabooru's legs. Nabooru smiled and pulled her hair free from its high restrictive ponytail.

"I had to find him by convincing his friends into leading me to him, but it went smooth once I found his hiding spot," Nabooru growled as she slipped in. Nabooru winced as cold water irritated a bruise she hadn't known she had on her ankle.

"Does it get any easier the older you become?" Versa asked.

"As long as you learn from the mistakes you make the previous hunts, it will get easier. If you don't, it will become much more difficult," Nabooru replied as she leaned against the pool's wall. Versa nodded and pulled herself out of the cold water.

"Well, I need to go and talk to Elder Nimona. She wants to make sure the wound doesn't get infected," The younger girl said as she stood up and walked to where her clothes and a large sheet of fabric were located.

"As you should, you would not want it to fester and cause you to miss your initiation," Nabooru replied.

"Yes," Versa answered as she placed the towel back onto the bench and pulled her clothes on.

"Good day, Nabooru," She called back to Nabooru as she walked around the edge of the pool, pulling her thick red hair back into a low ponytail.

"Good day," Nabooru replied as she watched the girl walk out of the room. Nabooru grinned as she pushed herself away from the edge and plunged into the cold water.

* * *

"What is that?" Saria whispered as she looked up at Epona. The mare, in return, sniffed at Saria's face and shook her mane as if in annoyance.

"This is Epona. I raised her since she was a foal and she is very fast," Malon replied.

"But, what is she?" Saria repeated, holding a hand towards the horse. Her hand gently brushed against Epona's coat, she retracted it quickly in fear.

"She is Link's horse, have you never seen a horse?" Malon asked. Saria shook her head timidly.

"Don't worry, Epona is a sweet gentle horse. She's going to help us get across Hyrule Field faster," Malon said. Saria nodded and reached out again to the horse. She lightly touched the horse, frownign as she kept herself from jerking away.

"How will she help us?" Saria asked. Malon smiled and picked the child up. Saria squeaked in surprise.

"Put your right leg over Epona's back," Malon said. Saria nodded and reached out with her leg. Once Malon noticed that Saria's leg was safely over Epona's back, she shoved the girl upwards. She yelped and clung to Epona's mane in fright.

"There you go. She'll bring us where we need to go," Malon called. Malon used the stirrups to lift herself onto Epona's back, landing just behind Saria. The girl was staring at the ground below in astonishment.

"All right, little fairy, now it is time for you to be useful for once. Show us the way," Malon said to the fairy sitting on her shoulder.

"Why must you be so mean?" The fairy growled.

"Navi, please?" Saria asked.

"Oh, all right. I'll go…" The fairy mumbled before she fluttered from Malon's shoulder and began flying towards the horizon.

"Let's go, Epona!" Malon cheered. Epona snorted and began dashing after the fairy.

* * *

"Ya think he's gonna wake up soon?"

"I don't think he would want to,"

"He looks like a warrior or somethin'. Guess the Gerudo he was against was too much to handle,"

The loud strange voices were what first brought Link out of the thick oppressive darkness. Link groaned, his stomach twisting as he tried to wake himself up.

"Sound's like he's waking up. Morning, sleepy head," The first voice called to Link. Link grimaced at the sound as he tried to move. He felt warm stone beneath him and noticed that his arms were pinned behind his back. He attempted to move his arms, but they remained in place.

"Don't mock him, he probably doesn't know where he is," The second voice scolded. Link opened his eyes and regretted it. The bright light made his eyes water. Slowly, his eyes adjusted and he got a look at his surroundings. The room was made of tan worn stone, a large ray of light brightened the room from it's opening near the ceiling.

"I can mock whoever I want, we all have the same damn problem," Link slowly turned to see who as talking. The man who had been talking was dressed in rags and had a makeshift bandage wrapped around his temple. Another man was glaring at him, dressed in simple peasant clothing.

"How are you feeling?" The second man asked, turning away from the first. The other man snorted and stared upwards toward the ceiling.

"…Wha…" Link sputtered.

"Don't worry, you're just trapped in the Gerudo Fortress with us. You should start praying for rescue now," The first man announced, earning himself a glare from the other man.

"Manners, you could stand to learn some," The second man snarled.

"What's going on?" Link asked as he sat himself up. He tried to sift his thoughts, but he couldn't keep them down long enough to remember what had happened.

"The Gerudo's have some sort of whacked-out festival and abducted us 'lucky' men to join them," The first man retorted. Link froze as the word 'festival' came up and groaned.


	11. Chapter 11

Link tried to ignore the two men that were sharing the cell with him, as they had started bickering like cuccos when it was time for them to be fed, and began assessing the situation he was in this time. Cold metal cuffs chafed his ankles and wrists, effectively pinning them together. This time, it appears that the Gerudos took away his weapons. He had half-expected the Gerudos to make the same mistake they had made when he first came to the fortress and was captured, allowing him to keep his travel pack and weapons. The room itself was bare, empty of decoration and furniture. A few sleeping mats had been placed within reach of every prisoner as well as several strange metal buckets. Link stared at the buckets for a second before remembering that he was trying to think of some way of escaping and not trying to figure out what was wrong with a bunch of buckets. He glanced about the room once again and noticed that there was a third man sulking in the far corner. He was dressed in simple peasant clothing and was glaring at the ground, determined to stare at the ground as if it would reveal the answer to his predicament.

"Hey, warrior-kid!" A voice interrupted the argument and Link looked towards the man who had called out to him.

"What's yer name? Since we're all stuck here in this cell until those Gerudo loons decide to come for a visit, we might as well get to know each others names," He growled.

"My name is Link. Who are you?" Link said as he glanced upwards towards the window. It was too far to reach without his hookshot and Link had a feeling that he would not be able to fit through the tiny opening even if he had the hookshot.

"My name is Robert, and this is Evan," The other man said, introducing himself and the other man.

"I could have said my name myself, you know? I did not need you to introduce me," Evan said as he slumped against the stone wall. The bandage around his temple slipped slightly and Evan growled as he tried to push it back up with his shoulder. The man Robert rolled his eyes, but didn't retort to the man's statement.

"What is your name?" Link asked the man in the corner. The man glared up at him, dark gray eyes brimming with anger before they returned to their stare contest with the floor.

"Oh, him? That's Voltar, he lost his tongue when he was caught stealing from the Royal Treasury. I wouldn't bother him, kid," Evan warned, glancing at the man before looking back at Link. The man looked up and stared venomously at the man, as if hoping his eyes could suddenly gain the ability to kill people with just one angry glance. However, Evan ignored him until the Voltar began glaring at the stone floor.

"If he has no tongue, then how do you know his name and how he lost the tongue in the first place?" Link asked, glancing between Evan and Voltar.

"I was there when they made an example out of him. They did it right in the square, it was an ugly sight to witness, mark my words. I'm surprised he survived, I thought he bled to death after the guards dragged him away from the platform. Imagine the shock at seeing him in this place? The whole event did little good on scaring people, I still hear about people who try to get into the castle and end up getting caught," Evan replied. Link glanced down and attempted to hide his own smile as he remembered when he himself managed to sneak into the castle to talk to Princess Zelda.

"So, Link, how did the Gerudos get you? You look like you fight for a living, so why didn't you fight the Gerudo off?" Robert asked. Link scowled and looked towards the window again, wondering how high the sun was. He couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious and that made him uneasy.

"Okay, you do not want to talk about it. It's okay, we all make…" Robert started before he was interrupted by a snort from Evan. Robert turned on the man and tried to lunge forward, but his restraints kept him from moving farther than a few inches.

"All right, flea-bag, what was so damn funny?" Robert growled angrily.

"Flea-bag, is that supposed to be an insult, peasant?" Evan retorted. Robert ground his teeth angrily and tried to pull at the chains to get at the man. Evan smiled sardonically at the other man's futile attempt.

"I laughed cause it's not because he made some foolish mistake like anyone else. He's a warrior, a scrawny young one at that, so a mistake is an insult to his ego," Evan said, leaning forward as if to insult the other man. Robert growled and spat at Evan, the saliva landing on the man's shirt.

"That's a great response, sissy. Maybe now you can accept your…" Evan started, and then the doors clanged open. They all fell silent and Robert shifted backwards as a young Gerudo walked in. Over her shoulder was a boy who seemed close to Link's age, if not slightly older. His clothes were muddy and torn, but underneath the filth white fabric was visible in small patches. The Gerudo glanced at them curiously before depositing the boy next to Voltar and began binding the boy. The man glared up and then lunged towards the Gerudo. He bit down on the Gerudo's arm. In surprise and pain, she shrieked and smashed her palm into the man's nose. He growled as blood began dripping down from his broken nose, but refused to let go of the girl's forearm. One of the guards rushed in, looking for the source of the scream. She saw them and grabbed her spear from outside the door, twirling it before smashing it down on the man's back. He crumpled, releasing the girl's arm as the spear cracked on his back. The Gerudo smacked him with the spear a second time to make sure he didn't strike out again before attending to her sister. The man's teeth had torn through her brown skin, blood oozed from the jagged edges of the teeth marks. The girl bit her lips to keep her from crying out and tried to appear calm, but the tears at the edge of her eyes betrayed her pain.

"Sister, Remana will secure the prisoner for you. You must see Elder Nimona now," She said as she helped the Gerudo girl to her feet. The girl whimpered as her arm dangled uselessly beside her. The guard picked up her spear and helped the girl out of the room. They were a few short words with the guard who remained outside the door before the guard and her crying sister left. The door clanged open again and the other guard walked in. She walked past them and walked towards Voltar. She grabbed the man by his long hair and pulled him up to his knees. He glared at her, blood oozing down his face and mingling with the blood splashed on his mouth.

"I would kill you, bastard, for what you did to young Cedrin. Be lucky you are prey, because your death would be long and agonizing," She growled as she pushed the man back into the wall. Without another word, she went to the new boy and bound him with chains. After she made sure he could not escape when he woke up, she stormed out of the room.

"Good one, Voltar," Evan hissed quietly, watching the door to make sure the Gerudo guard did not hear him and come smack him. Voltar ignored him, wincing as he gently touched his nose against his knee as he tried to stop the bleeding. Link thought about telling him to pinch the bridge of his nose and lean his head backwards to stop the bleeding, but remembered that he was chained and that his nose was probably broken from the blow.

"Well, we know how to piss them off. Think it's a useful thing to know?" Evan asked, glancing around the room with a wry smile on his face. Link ignored the man's statement as he attempted to think of something that could get him out of this new mess.


	12. Chapter 12

As Nabooru came out of the baths, her wet hair locked in a tight braid and dressed in clean clothes, she noticed that a small group of Gerudos was rushing down the hall towards her. A girl stood in hte center of the group, her face burning with shame for something as she hid her face and held on to her arm. Nabooru recognized the girl as another participant of the Wild Hunt.

"What happened, sisters?" She called out as they drew near. A couple of the women glanced at her and stopped, but then became distracted by a groan of pain.

"We cannot talk now, one of the prisoners attacked Cedrin and…" One of the women began as she stepped away from the group to talk to Nabooru before several of the other women behind shouted in surprise. Nabooru glanced to the direction, noticed that the girl had collapsed, and quickly stepped out of the way. The women quickly ran past, the girl now supported by her elders as they rushed to find Elder Nimona. Nabooru watched the group vanish down the hallway, and then glanced down at the floor. Bright red blood was splattered down the hallway, leaving a trail in the direction of the holding cells. Nabooru sighed before she began following the trail.

* * *

Link was still contemplating escape, although he had a vague feeling that the only opportunity he would have was during the festival, when he was disrupted from his thoughts by a familiar voice outside. The other men, who had once again begun bickering, quieted to listen to the conversation.

"…the bastard in there decided he wanted to cause some trouble and attacked Cedrin. How was she when you saw her?" The guard asked worriedly.

"She collapsed and had to be assisted to Elder Nimona's chambers. Do not worry, she is in excellent hands now," Nabooru's voice replied.

"I am relieved to hear that. That Goddess-forsaken wretch, can't we at least punish the bastard for what he has done?" They heard the guard vehemently ask. Link looked towards Voltar, who seemed unconcerned about the affair he caused, and looked back to the entrance.

"You know the Law, you cannot injure another sister's prisoner except if he attacks you or you are given permission from his captor," Nabooru scolded, annoyed that the sister did not remember the law she followed.

"I remember the Law, Nabooru. I did not mean to appear ignorant. May I leave my post and seek out the sister who has claim over him?" The guard asked eagerly.

"You may, but find someone to take your post. We would not want any bright ideas from the prisoners. I'll stay here until you find a replacement," Nabooru replied.

"Yes, sister. Thank you," The guard said before running away.

"Well, Voltar, you have officially made all the crazy ladies here angry. Was that your plan or something?" Evan said. Voltar glared at him and mouthed what Link assumed was a curse before he returned to his brooding. The door slammed open and the three other men flinched in surprise.

"Well, at least this visit did not turn out all morbid. Glad to see your are awake now. How are you, Link?" Nabooru called cheerfully as she walked in.

"I would be better if you released me, Nabooru," Link stated flatly, ignoring the incredulous glances from the other men.

"I can not do that, Link. You're needed here, whether you want to be here or not," Nabooru said as she sat down a few feet from him. She glanced at the other prisoners and scowled at the sight of Voltar covered in blood, but decided to ignore him and focus on Link.

"What are you here for?" Link said.

"I wanted to see how you were doing and talk a little. It's been a while since we last saw each other, correct?" Nabooru said, a light smile on her face. Link thought about that, but didn't spend long thinking before Nabooru decided to continue to talk.

"I heard a little about the incident with Princess Ruto, but not much. Care to tell me?" Nabooru asked with a faint grin.

"By the Goddesses, who are you to know the Zora Princess? Damn, you must be…" Evan suddenly interrupted, shock plastered on his face as he recognised the zora princess's name. Nabooru shot him a venomous glance. Even cowered beneath the stare, eyes wide with fright.

"That story is not suitable for this company," Link said, glancing at the now listening men surrounding him and hoping he hadn't turned red with shame. Nabooru contemplated that, glancing between Link and the men attempting to listen in on their conversation.

"Nabooru, I was sent to guard the prisoners. You do not have to be here anymore," A new voice called from outside the door. Nabooru stared thoughtfully at Link before standing up and walking out of the door.

"Okay, Link, how do you know that Gerudo? Have you been here before?" Robert asked once Nabooru had left the room, eyes glittering with curiosity.

"Never mind that, how do you know Zora Princess?" Evan asked, glaring at Robert before turning back to Link.

"That's not for your ears," Link replied in annoyance.

"Not for our ears, whatever. Hey, maybe you were her lover!" Evan said with a laugh.

"Why would I want to be the lover to that…" Link started to say when the door opened again. Nabooru walked back in with the guard trailing behind her.

"Are you sure it was him and not one of the others?" The guard asked nervously.

"I am sure, sister. We must make sure the prisoners do not escape. Get up," Nabooru said as she unlocked the chain that connected his hands to the wall and lugged him to his feet. Link's legs were not used to having to support themselves, they would have collapsed under him without Nabooru holding him upright. Link debated an attempt to escape once his legs managed to support him, but that idea vanished as he saw several other Gerudos standing at the entrance to the cell.

"Nabooru, why him? Why not this one? This one has already caused problems for us," The guard asked, glancing at Voltar with disgust.

"That's because he does not plan. He attacked Cedrin out of rage, not an escape attempt. However, this one has escaped before. We cannot allow them to plan another escape before the Wild Hunt has completed," Nabooru replied. Link looked away as the other men muttered shocked surprises and resentment. In contrast, several Gerudo agreed with Nabooru and moved away from the door. With a hard shove, soon Link was being forced out of the cell and down the hallway, roughly escorted by Nabooru and twelve guards.

* * *

At Lake Hylia, the weather was clear and warm. Malon felt a warm feeling of contentment form in her heart. When she was very little, her mother used to take her to Lake Hylia whenever they could, just to fish and talk about how beautiful the day was. Now, being by the lake brought back those warm memories.

"It's so beautiful!" Saria exclaimed. Malon smiled, the girl had been excited ever since they began their journey across Hyrule Field, pointing out bugs, animals, and anything else she found fascinating.

"Okay, fairy, where is he? Is he at the fish-pond?" Malon asked, looking around for a sign of the person they planned to trick into taking Link's place at the festival.

"Follow me!" Navi replied, leaping from her nest in Epona's hair and flying towards the house. Malon sighed and slid down Epona's side before helping Saria from the saddle.

"Come on!" Navi shrieked in annoyance. Malon scowled and she debated taking a large jar with her. However, she decided against it, or it would only annoy the girl.

"Stay here, Epona," Malon said. The horse snorted before she began chewing on the grass. Malon turned and ran, noticing that the fairy was heading to the house.

"Why couldn't it just say that it was in the house?" Malon growled in annoyance. However, instead of flying to the door and waiting for Malon or Saria to open it, it flew past the house and disappeared behind it. Saria soon vanished behind the house and by the time Malon had reached the point, Saria was already following Navi over a bridge.

"Wait!" Malon shouted in annoyance. However, Navi and Saria did not stop until they reached the island in the center of the lake.

"You're slow," Navi stated as Malon ran forward. Malon growled in anger..

"Navi, where is he?" Saria asked worriedly. Malon stopped contemplating how to kill Navi and glanced around. There was no one on the small island.

"Are you sure he's here?" Malon asked.

"Of course I am sure he is here. I have been here before, I remember everything. He's down there, of course," Navi said as she fluttered to the water's edge and shot down. The fairy dove beneath the surface for a few seconds before flying back up.

"He's in the Zora temple?" Saria asked as she walked towards the edge, looking down at the water.

"There's a temple here?" Malon asked as she followed Saria to the edge of the shore.

"Yes, it's down there on the bottom of the lake. It's not that bad of a swim, come on!" Navi said cheerfully, much to the horror of Malon.


	13. Chapter 13

Nabooru smiled grimly at the few sisters who passed by their strange group, earning herself a few weak smiles before they dashed away. Their walk only lasted for a few moments before they found a suitable cell to lock him in. They dragged the fuming Link into the room, chaining him to the wall before the gaurds left the cell. The room was as empty and dull as the previous cell, only furnished with a small sleeping mat and another strange metal bucket that were placed close enough for Link to reach without having to strain on the chain. He stared at the bucket, wondering why it looked strange, and realized that it was chained to the ground to keep prisoners from throwing excrement on the guards if they happened to come in. He had not noticed the chains in the other cell, but now felt foolish for wondering about it.

"Okay, Link, how is this room? Is this private enough for you?" Nabooru asked slyly, crossing her legs as she sat down on the ground. Link glanced at the door, a solid metal door that separated him from the guard outside. He did not really want to talk to Nabooru, unless talking to her would somehow gain him his freedom.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes. At least we don't have the other men listening in on our conversation. I agree with what you had said earlier, they don't need to hear what we talk about. Anyways, is it true that you were going to marry Ruto and have lots and lots of creepy children?" Nabooru asked. Link could feel his face burn in shame.

"How did…" Link sputtered, trying as hard as he could to stop himself from turning red from embarrasment. Nabooru fished out a worn blue paper from a pocket and waved it in front of Link's face before she opened it.

"_To my dear friend, Nabooru, Leader of the Gerudos: I wish to invite you to my wedding. I am marrying my one true love, Link. It would be an honor if you were to attend… _more false flattery and nauseating remarks about how wonderful my attendance would be..._ sincerely Ruto, Princess of the Zoras," _Nabooru read, the mischievous grin on her face stretching with each word she spoke. Link's desperate battle between his embarresment and pride was won as his face turned a dark red. He had hoped that the Zora Princess had kept the ceremony quiet. He should have known better than to hope that no one would hear about the fiasco.

"Not voluntarily; it was stopped before the ceremony was finished. I didn't marry her and I had never planned to marry her in the first place," He mumbled. Nabooru laughed, bright cheerful laughter that lasted for several minutes before dying away.

"Ah, so the little fish did turn out to be rotten in the end. It's not surprising, you should have listened to her babbling about you when we were in the Sacred Realm. It was all 'Link this' and 'Link that' and 'I hate that fairy, she took Link's attention away from me.' She'd never shut up," Nabooru said, mirth still accentuated in her voice as she pocketed the invitation.

"Well, she is currently located in the bowels of Hyrule's dungeons," Link growled.

"Really, she must have done something really stupid this time. What did she do?" Nabooru asked.

"It was not my choice to be a part of the ceremony, as I mentioned before. Princess Zelda stopped the marriage and arrested Ruto for several other crimes she had commited," Link said.

"Oh. That is not too surprising, actually. But, perhaps a few years in a dungeon without servants could help her," Narbooru murmered, frowning as she thought quietly to herself. Link waited, not that he had much of a choice. He was chained to a wall. After a few minutes, she remembered that Link was there and stared at him.

"I can guess at what you're thinking, Link. The princess ain't gonna help you with escaping the fortress. Believe it or not, this is a religious holiday for us Gerudos. Princess Zelda must respect our traditions, if she wishes to keep the peace treaties," Nabooru said quietly, a small frown forming as she spoke.

"I know that, Nabooru," Link growled, biting his cheek in frustration. He had momentarily toyed with the idea, despite the fact that Zelda herself had warned him about the festival and warned him about her lack of power over it. He also thought for a moment that, upon hearing that Ruto had been arrested, that Nabooru would release him in order to avoid a confrontation with the princess. Nabooru's frown slowly vanished, although she was no longer smiling as she had been before.

"Do you even know why you're here, Link? I suppose you have probably thought of a few ideas about your arrival," Nabooru asked curiously. Link wondered about telling Nabooru about Zelda's warning and decided simply to shake his head. There was nothing to gain in inciting Nabooru's anger towards Zelda.

"Course not, I bet you learned about it from the farm-girl. All that girl knows is that men are taken away and something supposedly bad happens to them, she probably thinks we eat them or something strange like that," She said, shaking her head. Link smiled despite himself, he hadn't thought of what the other wives would think if their husbands were stolen away by another woman.

"You will be a part of the Wild Hunt, a festival that is to celebrate the peak of summer. We celebrate it every twelve years in honor of the twelve days our Lady of the Sun fought against the Trickster. During the short night, we celebrate with dance and song and games to mock the Trickster and once dawn arrives…" Nabooru stated, breaking off before she delved into what happened at dawn. Link realized what she had stopped herself from saying and felt dread burn at the pit of his stomach.

"Well, that's a surprise. I don't wish to spoil everything," Nabooru replied, a strange smile on her face as she stared at him.

"Who is the Trickster?" Link asked. The strange look on her face vanished and she regarded him with faint glee.

"Finally, an outsider who is interested in our religious beliefs. How wonderful. Well, since you're a friend and you'd already been accepted into our clan, I will tell you," Nabooru replied, glancing at the door before turning to Link.

"The Trickster is the brother of the Lady of the Sun. When the world had been crafted, the creatures and plants been given life, and the Lady was about to ascend the sky to take her place as the Sun, the Trickster offered to stay on the land. She allowed him to stay and began her flight around the land. When her light left the land, the Trickster became affected by the night and began playing with all they had created, changing them to suit his new and strange wishes and desires. When She returned, She found that Her beloved creations had been altered. She scolded him and returned the creatures to their rightful form before she returned to her flight. For three days, He changed the world to suit his needs and his heart grew darker and darker the longer they quarreled.

Finally, She decided it would be easier to take the Trickster away from the world. She told him that She had arranged a spot for him in the heavens, where he could monitor the creatures during the night. He agreed, planning to use this opportunity to continue his workings. He was brought to an empty part of the sky and suddenly realized that something was strange. It was too late and She cursed him to remain there, following Her footsteps far from the earth and away from the creatures she adored. He seethed and fought against her power for twelve days, but Her power was much greater than his and she permantly confined him to his new prison in the sky.

However, his pull on the creatures of the night still linger on, for he is the face in the moon above in the sky. The dead walk for him and the dark creatures perform his bidding until the banishing light of Her Grace drives them away. The Wild Hunt is to celebrate the victory over the Trickster. We also celebrate the initiation of all girls between the ages of…" Nabooru explained, smiling as she told him the story of her clan's religious history. Link sat there, the whole story passing completely over his head.

"Nabooru, Elder Nimona wishes to speak to you," A Gerudo said as she stuck her head in, interrupting Nabooru's explanation.

"Very well, I will be out shortly," Nabooru replied. The woman nodded, glared at Link, and vanished from sight. Nabooru sighed as she stood up.

"Well, maybe I'll explain it a little more later. I must return to my duties," Nabooru growled. She walked towards the door before stopping.

"It was great talking to you. See you later, Link," She said, turning around to give him a wink before walking out of the cell. Link sat there, still trying to process the information that Nabooru had said. He didn't understand much, he had been hoping more for information about the festival's workings instead of the history. He pondered on it before a growl in his stomach brought him out of his thoughts of the festival.


	14. Chapter 14

As Nabooru followed the Gerudo down the fortress's halls to Elder Nimona's chambers, she noticed that the closer she got to the elder's room, the more agitated the other women walking down the corridors became. A few of the women were frowning and pretending to occupy themselves with their duties, but many of them were angry and stared at Nabooru as she passed by them.

"Does this have to do with the incident with the prisoners, sister?" Nabooru asked.

"Sort of, you need to talk to Elder Nimona about the problem," The Gerudo replied hastily, glancing back at her over her shoulder before looking back down the corridor. Nabooru frowned; it must be something truly bothersome if the girl did not wish to speak of it. Once they reached the heavy curtain that separated the elder's room with the corridor, the Gerudo gestured for Nabooru to enter. Nabooru smiled to the girl before pushing aside the embroidered curtain.

"Welcome, Nabooru," Elder Nimona murmured from her seat on a pile of rugs. Versa sat on a rug beside her, helping the elder Gerudo bandage Cedrin. The younger injured girl glanced sheepishly at Nabooru before glancing back at her arm. Versa, however, ignored Nabooru and kept her focus on the other girl.

"You called for me, elder?" Nabooru asked as she approached the elder and sat down beside her.

"Yes, I did. There seem to be some problems with the prisoners, or so I hear," The elder stated as she pulled out a small rolled bundle labeled with several characters from their ancestors. She opened the pack and revealed several rolls of dried herbs. After a quick scrutiny to make sure that they were the ones she needed, she took out a small mortar and pestle and began grinding the dried herbs into powder.

"There have been several incidents, that is true. One of the prisoners is attacking anyone that comes near him," Nabooru answered, glancing grimly towards Cedrin's wound before looking back to Elder Nimona. The elder Gerudo nodded before she carefully closed the pack and set it aside. She reached towards a nearby shelf and pulled down another pack and opened it. She plucked several dried crimson seeds and added them to the herb powder.

"Versa, fetch some water for me," Elder Nimona said, glancing at the other girl. Versa glanced up at the elder before standing up and rushing out of the room.

"The sister who was asking about punishing the prisoner came here to speak to me. She was very upset that the little sister was injured. However, the sister who had captured the man is having difficulties with her own self-judgment," Elder Nimona growled, glancing at Cedrin warningly. Cedrin smiled dryly and nodded, knowing that she was not to speak of what her elders were talking about.

"What is the problem?" Nabooru asked worriedly.

"She wants to perform the Desert-Moon on the prisoner," Elder Nimona stated dryly. Nabooru felt her breath catch at the back of her throat at the name.

"The Desert-Moon? That method is not permitted to anyone outside of our clan! That is only for sisters who commit…" Nabooru mumbled in shock, her voice trailing away in horror.

"Yes, so the decision has fallen on us. Our worried sister has isolated herself by the training grounds until our decision for the prisoner's punishment," The elder said. The curtains were shoved aside and Versa returned, carrying a small clay vase of water.

"Thank you, Versa. You can run along now. I know you're bored and want to practice your archery," Elder Nimona said as she took the vase. Versa turned red in embarrassment before mumbling a quick goodbye and scurrying out of the room. Elder Nimona chuckled at the girl's embarrassment as she stirred the water and powder into another clay bowl, which formed into a dark paste. Cedrin stared at the paste in astonishment and faint revulsion, but kept herself from saying anything about it as the older woman dunked her hands into the mess.

"Extend your arm," Elder Nimona stated, holding out a worn hand toward the girl. Cedrin grudgingly held out her oozing arm and let the elder hold her wrist, glaring at the bowl filled with the paste with annoyance. The older woman scooped out a handful of the paste and gently began applying it to the wound. Cedrin flinched as the paste was applied and her muscles tightened with pain.

"Stop that, this will make sure you don't get an infection," Elder Nimona scolded. Cedrin grimaced before relaxing her arm again.

"What is your opinion on the prisoner's punishment, then?" Elder Nimona asked as she continued to cover the wound with the dark-colored paste. Nabooru thought about it for a moment, questioning on what the other Gerudos would say and her own opinion on the matter. After a few moments of thought, she came to her decision.

* * *

"What's the big deal? It's just a little swim down to the bottom of the lake. Wait, can you even swim? I forgot that you lived at the ranch, you would not need to know how to swim," Navi complained as she circled over Malon's and Saria's heads.

"Of course I can swim, but that's not the point. That is not a little swim, it's suicide. It's at the bottom of the lake. There is no way to get down there without dying," Malon grumbled, glaring at the shore before returning her angry stare to the fairy perched on a nearby rock.

"Yes there is! Link went down there once!" The fairy yelled, her wings flapping in agitation and fury.

"How is that possible?" Malon retorted.

"Well, Link always put on the blue tunic of his before swimming and he would be just fine. Oh, wait, I guess that would have helped him avoid drowning…" Navi stated, her voice turning thoughtful as she remembered how Link had gotten down to the temple's entrance and the adventures inside the massive temple.

"I've seen that tunic before, it looks pretty much like his green tunic. How did it help him avoid drowning?" Malon asked worriedly.

"I don't know, the Zoras don't like revealing the secrets to their clothes. Maybe it's the embroidery…Wait! Why don't we ask the Zoras to help us get down there?" Navi said excitedly.

"They won't help us," Malon muttered.

"Why not? Their princess really likes Link. I mean, likes him so much that it's really scary. Let's talk to her right now! She will surely help us out. She wouldn't let Nabooru lay a hand on Link," Navi replied, her voice pompous with her faith in her decision.

"The thing is, the Zora Princess is currently at Hyrule Castle awaiting for Princess Zelda to decide her punishment," Malon muttered.

"Punishment, what did Princess Ruto do? It couldn't be that bad," Navi replied. Malon quickly explained to her about the incident where Ruto attempted to force a marriage on Link, which was stopped by Princess Zelda. Navi, for once, remained quiet through the whole long winding tale. That is, until Malon finished her explanation.

"Well, _excuse me_ for not being informed. You should have told me about that! Now, I have to think of something else to do. Maybe we can buy that tunic…" Navi growled.

"How much is it?" Malon asked coolly, glaring at the fairy with the desire to pick up a rock and smash it down on the annoying creature.

"Three hundred rupees, or was it four hundred…" Navi said thoughtfully.

"Three hundred rupees, where did Link find the money to purchase that?" Malon exclaimed in astonishment. She had never had that much money in her life and she could barely imagine Link with such a large amount of rupees.

"No, he got it as a present from the Zora King," Navi yelled angrily.

"How about we just ask the Zoras to bring us down there?" Saria interrupted.

"That sounds like a good idea. Why didn't you think of an idea?" Navi growled at Malon. Malon scowled at the fairy before she grabbed the fairy.

"Ow! Let me go! That hurts!" The fairy complained as Malon stormed across the bridges to Epona. She opened a pouch on the saddle and shoved the fairy inside.

"No!" Navi screamed as Malon closed the pouch, tightening the strap around it to make sure it didn't become loose. Navi continued screaming, her shrill voice muffled from the thick leather. Epona glanced back at Malon nervously, her ears flickered back and eyes glowering.

"Sorry, Epona. But, I didn't want her following and pestering me. Can you manage to be around her for a little while?" Malon whispered. The horse butted her head against Malon's arm and started grazing.

"Why did you do that?" Malon turned to see Saria staring at the squirming screaming pouch.

"She'd annoy the Zoras. Let's go," Malon said before she started walking to the shore. Saria stared at the pouch before pulling out the pouch on her waist. She opened it and gently pulled out her sleeping fairy. Saria smiled before gently placing the sleeping fairy on her shoulder and turning to follow Malon.


	15. Chapter 15

As Malon and Saria walked towards the shore, two heads rose above the water's surface and stared curiously at them. Dark eyes watched them approach before one of the Zoras decided to walk out and greet them. The Zora swam towards the shore before reaching the shallows and standing up, waiting for them to meet him there.

"You are the girl that came with Princess Zelda when she arrested our princess," He called out, crossing his arms across his chest while glaring at Malon. Malon felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Uh, yes I was with her," Malon answered sheepishly, ignoring Saria's inquiring glance. The Zora glanced back at the other Zora peering over the water's surface, which signaled to the second zora that it was okay to come out to the shore. The second Zora jumped up as she noticed the signal and splashed her way to the shore, a bright playful smile on her face as she splashed them. The older Zora glared at her, but it didn't seem to disturb the younger one.

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you or your princess. It is just strange for our princess to be gone for so long and under such circumstances. I'm Quon and this is my apprentice Rue," He said, glaring reproachfully at Rue before glancing back at Malon and Saria.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Malon and this is my friend Saria," Malon said. The younger Zora smiled before she focused on Saria. Her smile vanished momentarily when she spotted Saria's sleeping fairy, although it quickly came back.

"Is that a fairy? I've only seen fairies in pictures from books, it's so pretty," Rue asked, staring at the sleeping fairy on Saria's shoulder with unsuppressed excitement and curiosity.

"Yes, this is my guardian fairy," Saria replied.

"A guardian fairy, I've never heard of such a thing," Rue stated in confusion.

"Hush, you do not know everything," Quon quickly admonished. The younger Zora blushed at the sudden chide and glowered at him.

"Yes, whatever you say," She growled under her breath. He turned towards her and she quickly stared down at her feet to avoid meeting eyes with the older Zora. Quon glared at her for a few seconds before deciding to reprimand her later and returning his attention to Malon and Saria.

"What did you come here for?" He asked.

"Well, Saria here wanted to visit the Zora Temple and no one else would bring her. Is there a chance we can go down and visit the Temple?" Malon asked. Saria glanced up at her in confusion, but a quick warning glance from Malon kept her from asking in front of the two zoras.

"Our temple? I do not believe anyone can go visit the temple right now," He said, glancing towards the direction of the sunken temple. Malon bit her lip as she tried thinking of something, but Saria thought of something to say before Malon could.

"But, I really want to visit the temple. You promised I could," Saria whined, glaring up at Malon. This startled the Zora, who glanced at the younger girl nervously.

"Saria," Malon warned, worried that Saria's words would annoy Quon.

"Maybe we should talk to the captain about this, since it is so important for you, little one. Rue, stay here and wait with them. I'll be back shortly with the captain and you can talk to him about the visit," He said, smiling down at Saria before he turned and rushed off back into the water. Rue huffed angrily to herself as she watched him dive into the lake and out of sight.

"I can't do anything interesting," She grumbled as she crossed her arms and sat down in the shallows. The water closed over Rue's head as she sank to the bottom of the shallows. Saria stared at the Zora sitting beneath the surface of the water before she leaned against Malon and smiled mischievously up at the elder girl. Malon returned her smile, although her smile was much weaker and less certain as Saria's.

* * *

As Nabooru came out of the Elder's room, accompanied by a bandaged but smiling Cedrin, she was greeted by a group of annoyed and worried Gerudos. Two girls Cedrin's age stared wide-eyed at Cedrin's wounds and quickly surrounded the girl. Cedrin glanced back at Nabooru before she was escorted away, bombarded with questions and concerns.

"What was the decision?" One of the older Gerudos asked.

"The bastard will be punished, right?" A second Gerudo called out from the back of the group. The other Gerudos, encouraged by the first two outspoken women, started muttering to each other and asking about the punishment that was going to be performed on the prisoner that had attacked Cedrin.

"Sisters, be quiet!" Nabooru shouted. The murmers instantly quieted as they all focused on Nabooru.

"We will not congregate out here and disturb Elder Nimona and the other elders. Follow me and I will tell you what our decision was," Nabooru called out before she pushed through the crowd of women and started walking down the corridor. The crowd of annoyed Gerudos followed her, grumbling to each other about what they thought her decision would be. It took all of Nabooru's self-control to keep herself from laughing at some of the silliest and wildest of the ideas, although she couldn't resist smiling to herself. After several minutes of walking, they reached an open spacious hall. Several girls, ones who were not old enough to participate in the Wild Hunt, glanced up from their duties of decorating the huge hall and stared at them in astonishment.

"Children, please leave the hall until we are finished. We're holding a quick meeting. You can return to your duties in a few minutes," Nabooru said as she walked towards them. The young girls nodded before retreating to the hallways. Nabooru turned to the crowd and noticed that the crowd had swelled with more curious and angry Gerudos. Nabooru glanced around before she noticed a half-decorated table nearby. She leapt on top of the table and turned to the crowd. They all stared up at her, waiting impatiantly for her explanation.

"Can you all hear me?" She called out. The Gerudos returned her call with a chorus of yes's and good-hearted jeers. Nabooru smiled at several of the women who had jeered at her before she continued.

"I have talked to Elder Nimona about this issue and we have decided that the prisoner will not get away with attacking our young sister Cedrin. He will be punished for his rash actions," She called out. Several of the younger Gerudos cheered before their elders quieted them.

"What sort of punishment shall the bastard get?" One of the women called out. Nabooru glanced at the direction of the voice and noticed the guard who had asked for the punishment earlier was standing in the crowd. The silent woman appeared calm, but Nabooru could see the rage in the woman's eyes as she waited for Nabooru's response.

"We have decided to publicly flog him in front of the other prisoners, as a warning to keep them from doing something similar to any of our other sisters," Nabooru answered. A loud roar of pleased and excited cheers echoed across the large hall. Nabooru smiled at the women's reaction and felt pleased with herself for figuring out a good punishment.

* * *

Link was checking to see if the mortar around the post that connected the chain to the wall when the door suddenly slammed open and startled him. He looked away from the post and stared up at the Gerudo that had entered. An excited grin was plastered on her thin angular face as she glared down at him.

"Stand up, prisoner. There's something that you would want to see," The Gerudo said as she unlocked the chain connected to the post and pulled Link to his feet. Link glanced at the door and noticed a group of excited and armed Gerudos standing in the hallway, waiting to see if he would try to escape.

"Let's go, prisoner. We don't have all day," The woman growled as she shoved Link forward towards the door and the waiting escort. With yet another idea blasted apart, Link allowed the Gerudo to roughly escort him. The group swarmed around them and followed him down the hall, whispering to each other with their words interrupted with excited giggles. Link realized quickly that something was going to happen that the Gerudos wanted him to see, something that was most likely going to be really bad.


	16. Chapter 16

The Gerudo that led them through the halls hummed loudly to herself as they walked on. The guards surrounding Link kept silent, although they themselves were smiling. Link was led down several hallways until he was dragged outside. Link blinked as he was forced into the sunlight and was blind for several moments. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, the Gerudo dragged him on. New, loud excited voices came with the light. Once Link could see, he found himself surrounded by Gerudos. Most of them ignored him, but several Gerudos stared angrily at him before vanishing into the crowd. The Gerudos greeted those they met as they dragged him on, cheerful and excited about something that was about to happen. The Gerudo dragged him on until they reached a small clearing in the crowd. Link stared as the prisoners from the cell before came into view, tied to several recently-built posts. The man Evan smiled crookedly at Link as he approached. Link glared at him as the Gerudos forced him to be tied up as well. Once they finished, they vanished into the crowd of chattering women. Link quickly glanced around, looking for a weapon in case this was meant to be part of the festival. Instead of a weapon, he noticed how the posts were arranged. One post was slightly ahead of them, tall and alone in the sea of women.

"Hey, if it isn't you. What'd they do to you?" Link glanced to his left at the man who had spoken, Evan. Link shook his head and nodded his head towards the guards around them, as if he didn't want the Gerudos to overhear the conversation.

"Fine, don't tell us. It doesn't really matter now. What'cha think is going to happen?" Evan asked, staring at the Gerudos congregating around them.

"They are rather excited about whatever is going to happen," Robert hissed. One of the guards turned and glanced sourly at him before returning to her watch. He glanced down towards his feet sheepishly before looking back up at the crowd.

"Look, there's Voltar," Evan growled, nodding his head towards the crowd. Link glanced over to see three Gerudos dragging the man through the crowd towards them, ignoring his efforts to break free. The crowd parted, allowing a path to their destination. They dragged him until they reached the poles that the others had been tied to. However, instead of securing him like they had with the other prisoners, they threw him face-first into the dirt. The man sputtered at the force of the throw, but made no effort to flip over and face the women that had thrown him to the ground. Several of the Gerudos giggled at Voltar.

"Sisters, the time has come for the punishment of the prisoner. Stand him up so that he can face his punishment," Nabooru's voice rang loud and clear as she walked out of the crowd and into the new clearing. The three Gerudos nodded and dragged the man up by his hair, digging their nails into his scalp. Voltar lashed out, throwing his weight towards the nearest Gerudo in order to knock her down. The Gerudo he tried to attack danced out of the way and smashed her arm into his side. He staggered from the blow, giving the women enought time to subdue him once again. He stared murderously up at Nabooru as she approached him, stopping within striking distance, and clenched his jaw in fury.

"Prisoner, you are to be punished for injuring our young sister. Your punishment is to recieve twenty lashes," Nabooru yelled. The crowd cheered around them, excited at the announcement. Voltar scowled and spat at Nabooru's feet, splattering phlegm and blood over her shoes. She glared down at her feet with disinterest and calmly kicked off the soiled shoes. One of the Gerudos holding Voltar growled at the insult and smashed her elbow into his back, driving the breath back out of him. As Voltar gasped in pain and crumpled forward, they dragged him to the remaining post and lashed him to it. He was faced towards the post, leaving his back open.

"Oh, shit," Link heard Robert hiss under his breath. Link glanced at him before spotting the Gerudos back away. A tall burly Gerudo stepped out of the crowd, her large face cold and annoyed. A long leather whip was curled around her wrist and large tanned hands, like a snake basking in the sun. As she approached, she calmly shook the hand holding the whip. The long whip flew out, striking the ground with a snap. The Gerdudos quieted and a few sat down so that those behind them could see, all eager to witness the punishment.

"One," The woman growled as she snapped the whip. The whip caught along the lower back, cutting open the back of the man's shirt from the force of the blow. Voltar flinched at the pain pulled at the ropes, trying to break free. Fingers dug into the wood.

"Two. Three. Four," The woman continued, her voice growing louder in intensity with each lash. Between each lash, she waited for a moment for the pain to set in before unleashing another one. Each blow ripped open the shirt, shredded fabric lay limp against the bruised blood-drenched back. Voltar was obviously trying to keep himself from screaming as flesh from his back was torn by the knotted rope.

"Ten," The woman barked. As the tenth lash struck, he lost control over his voice and bellowed in pain. Several of the younger Gerudos giggled at the sound of his scream, while a few of the older ones smiled to themselves and remained silent.

"This is a show for us, isn't it? This is disgusting," Robert asked quietly, his voice shuddering with each new pained scream and crack of the whip. Link glanced at the man, who was watching the scene with fascinated horror and revulsion. One of the Gerudos also heard him, for she caught Robert's eye and winked slyly at him. Robert stared at her as she looked away again, his mouth clamped shut in terror.

"Stay quiet, or else..." Evan warned, glaring at Robert before turning back to Voltar. By this time, Voltar had stopped screaming. He slumped against the post as far down as he could go, crying despite himself. The woman whipping him paused for a moment, holding back the sixteenth lash. She stepped forward and knelt beside the sobbing Voltar, pressing the blood-stained whip against Voltar's cheek.

"Stand up, you filthy coward," She hissed. He pulled away from her and growled weakly at her, all his former resistance gone with the help of the whip. She scowled at his response and pulled him back up to his feet, shoving him against the post.

"I said stand up," She yelled before backing away. The whip flew and cut into his thick leg muscles. He howled in surprise and pain and struggled once again, unable to slump down as he had before because of the wounded legs. A large teeth-filled smile crossed the woman's face and she lifted the whip again.

"Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen," The woman continued as she slowly finished the punishment, stretching the time between each lash longer and longer. Just before the last lash, Voltar tried muttering something. Without his tongue, he could not truly say what he wanted to. However, the woman seemed to understand what he was attempting to say, for she smiled as she dealt the last blow. The blow was powerful enough to smash him into the post and he crumpled onto his injured legs, howling in pain as both the torn muscles from his back and legs reacted.

"Twenty," The woman hissed. The quiet Gerudos around them burst into excited applause, faces bright and giddy.

"Thank you," Nabooru hissed as she walked forward and stood next to the woman. The woman looked down at Nabooru and smiled before walking back into the crowd. Nabooru stared at the bleeding man before her, lips pursed and annoyed. One brave girl edged her way out of the crowd, sat next to the sobbing Voltar, and began hissing taunts and insults under her breath. He ignored her, instead focusing on the wooden post in front of him.

"That's enough, girl. Go back into the crowd," Nabooru growled. The girl glared up at her before returning to her position at the front of the crowd.

"I have seen that the punishment has been fair and just. Return to your posts, sisters," Nabooru shouted. The crowd grumbled slightly, but slowly dispersed. Nabooru turned and stared at the sobbing man. SHe watched him for a moment, disgust on her face, before turning to the other prisoners.

"Heed the warning, prisoners. We do not take things lightly here, unlike your precious Kingdom. Disobey at your peril," Nabooru shouted. Link glared at her. Nabooru noticed and stared back at him. She smiled slightly and walked away, humming to herself.


	17. Chapter 17

Malon glanced between Saria, the Zora girl, and the crystal-clear water of the lake with increasing nervousness. For a moment, she wondered if the Zora would come back, but remembered that his apprentice was still waiting with them.

"Morning, Saria," Malon jumped in surprise at the new voice. She glanced around before noticing the fairy on Saria's shoulder moving.

"It's not morning, silly. It's about time you woke up," Saria said, glancing down at the fairy.

"That's not nice, Saria. A nap was just what I needed, I feel much better. You should take more naps. Where are we?" the fairy chattered as she finished waking up and began looking around, leaping off of Saria's shoulder to flutter around Saria's head nervously. The Zora girl glanced up when she heard the fairy's voice and smiled as she stood up.

"We are at Lake Hylia," Malon replied.

"Lake Hylia, I think that one tall person told us about that place when he came to visit. Remember, Saria? I can't remember what he said about it though…" the fairy muttered.

"Can I take a closer look at it?" Rue asked reproachfully, biting her lower lip in an effort not to look too curious.

"Who are you?" the fairy said, diving towards the zora girl's face. Rue flinched and held up her hands in case the fairy was going to hit her face. The fairy stopped in front of the upraised hands, confused at the girl's reaction.

"What's wrong? I wasn't going to hit you. That'd be silly, I haven't hit anything for a long time. I can't even remember the last time I hit something, except that it was a tree and I was really young," The fairy scolded. Rue slowly lowered her hands and stared at the fairy in awe.

"Who are you? I don't like repeating myself," the fairy growled in annoyance.

"I'm Rue, apprentice to Master Quon. Nice to meet you, fairy," Rue replied, smiling so her small white teeth shone in the sunlight.

"How old are you, Rue?" Malon asked.

"I'm twelve," Rue replied as she held out her hands for the fairy to land on. The fairy landed cautiously on the outstretched hands.

"You are wet!" the fairy yelped in surprise, jumping back up into the air. Rue and Saria both laughed at the fairy's surprise. The fairy grumbled under its breath as it landed once again on the Zora's outstretched palm, annoyed that it was being laughed at.

"Aren't you too young to be an apprentice," Malon asked nervously.

"No, this is my second year under Master Quon. When did you become an apprentice?" Rue asked in confusion. Malon frowned, not able to think of an answer except that she was never an apprentice.

"I think I see something coming towards us!" the fairy yelped, leaping up from Rue's hands to rush over to Saria for protection. Malon felt relieved at the fairy's interruption, which helped her avoid answering the question. Rue quickly jumped and turned to watch with them as two dark shapes darted towards them. As they reached the shallows, they stood up. Malon smiled as she recognized the captain from when she was in the Zora's Domain rescuing Link.

"Good afternoon. I am the captain of the Zoras. I heard from Quon that you wish to enter the temple," the captain said, smiling courteously down at Saria as he spoke.

"I do not, but my friend here does. I am Malon and this is Saria," Malon replied.

"I remember you from the incident. Why is it you need to visit the temple, little girl?" the captain asked, sinking down to one knee so that he was eye-level with Saria. Saria almost frowned at being called little, but managed to stop herself. She didn't want to explain why she was so far away from the forest.

"I want to visit all the temples. I heard from a friend that the Zora Temple was the most beautiful temple of all," Saria replied, smiling as she spoke. The captain nodded and stared at Saria, thinking about what to do.

"Are you her sister or mother?" Quon asked, glaring at Malon.

"I am friends to her family. I was the only one who would take her to all the temples," Malon replied, blushing at the idea of being a mother at her age. The captain nodded as he heard and continued thinking.

"I think it would be okay for the young one to visit the temple," the captain replied. Saria's smile widened as she heard that she had managed to get access to the temple.

"Who will take her down there?" Malon asked. The two Zoras glanced at each other, waiting to see if the other would take on the task.

"Please! Please, please, please, please, please me!" Rue mumbled under her breath, watching the two older Zoras with dark pleading eyes. Quon glanced down at her sharply, making the girl blush and stare down at her feet as she realized that she had spoken out loud.

"I have other duties to attend to, so I can not escort the girl into the temple. Rue, it is time that you did something on your own. Go ahead and take the girl down into the temple. We shall wait for you here," the captain said, smiling down at the excited girl. She stared up at him in astonishment before she squealed in excitement.

"C'mon, let's go! I'll take you down there!" Rue laughed in excitement, reaching out and grabbing onto Saria's hand. Saria smiled as they started towards the deep waters of the lake.

"Stop, apprentice," the captain shouted. Saria and Rue both jumped at the sudden command and stopped in their tracks.

"Yes?" Rue asked nervously

"You have already made a mistake. What have you done wrong?" Quon growled, crossing his arms across his chest. Rue frowned, glanced between her master and Saria, and thought about what she might have done wrong. She only had to think about it for a moment before a look of shock and horror crossed over her face and she held her hand up to her mouth.

"Sorry, I am so sorry! I forgot that she couldn't breath like us! If you hadn't called me out, I could have hurt her or…" she howled.

"Do not think about what might have happened. Go fetch something to help her and return quickly," the captain snapped, interrupting Rue before she could continue. The girl nodded once and dove out of sight, looking miserable.

"Don't we need Navi to help me?" Saria asked quietly. Malon frowned at the idea of letting Navi free to be annoying, but knew that it was a good idea. Malon tried thinking of a way to avoid letting the fairy out before realizing she had nothing to say and nodded.

"Go free the fairy that is by the horse," Saira said. Her fairy grumbled under her breath before flying off towards Epona. After a few seconds, two fairies came flying towards them.

"How dare you! I'm going to smell like leather forever! I don't like the smell of leather. Or horses, for that matter," Navi shouted angrily, her shouts completely ignored by Malon. The two male Zoras glared at the shouting fairy and decided it would be better to simply ignore the ranting fairy. After a while, Navi realized that no one was paying attention to her and settled down on Saria's shoulder.

"Here, I got a tunic. I think it's too big, but we don't have anything smaller. You can just put it over your clothes," Rue said as she splashed up. The two Zora's frowned as they were splashed, but remained silent. Rue handed the tunic to Saria, the blue fabric spilling down and nearly reaching her feet.

"Where did you get the tunic?" Quon asked quietly as Saria started putting on the tunic, with Malon's help.

"I'm borrowing it from the shop," Rue replied.

"If it gets damaged, you will have to find a way to pay back the shop owner. Remember that," Quon growled. Rue glared at him in annoyance before nodding. By then, Saria had managed to get the tunic on. The tunic looked more like a large dress on her, which made Malon wonder why they didn't make anything for children.

"It's still work fine. Now, the fairy can hide in the pockets and we can go down to the temple," Rue said, not noticing that there were two fairies with Saria. The fairies quickly dove down and found pockets to hide in as Saria followed the Zora girl out towards the water. Saria stared down at the water nervously, unsure if the tunic was truly enough to protect her from drowning.

"Trust me, it will be fine. Nothing bad will happen. Just breathe normally," Rue said as she took Saria by the hand and led her into the water. Saria closed her eyes as the water came up her neck and reached her face, her nervousness now turning to fear. She tried to remind herself to keep breathing normally as the water went over her nose. Despite her attempt to remember what Rue, she held her breath in terror. As her feet left the muddy floor and she began floating, Rue began tugging Saria towards the bottom below. Saria remained motionless, thinking that moving would make her panic. Rue continued swimming before realizing what was going on and turning. Her dark eyes widened with surprise as she noticed that Saria was holding her breath.

"Breathe normally! I know it must be scary, but you can't hold your breath! You can hurt yourself! Come on, breathe!" Rue yelled, her voice clear despite being underwater. A sharp yank on Saria's arm made Saria yelp in surprise and take in a breath. Water rushed in her mouth, but none went into her lungs. She coughed out the water and froze as she realized she had taken a breath under the water. She took another shaky breath and felt a nervous excited laugh burn at the back of her throat. She suppressed it, not knowing what would happen if she laughed underwater. Rue glanced back at her and smiled as she noticed that Saria was breathing normally.

"See, you're fine. You can swim, right?" Rue asked, pointing downwards to the depths. Saria nodded and quietly followed the girl down into the depths of the lake. A few fish swam towards them, darting away when Rue reached out hungrily towards them. They kept descending to the depths until they reached the muddy bottom of the lake.

"The temple is right over there. See," Rue said as she sat down on the muddy floor, pointing away. Saria turned and stared at the huge temple in front of her, entranced by the structure's beauty. The large structure was carved out of stone and glimmered in the light shining down from the surface above.

"Isn't it beautiful? All of our important occasions occur there, except for weddings and such. Coronations, religious festivals, and other sorts of things. Some of the other Zoras say that the temple near the castle is almost as beautiful, but they are liars. Nothing could ever compare to our temple," Rue said as she pushed herself up so that she could float next to Saria, a faint pleased smile on her face as she spoke about the temple. Saria thought about the forest temple for a moment before deciding that even though the Zora Temple was beautiful, she still prefered the natural beauty of the Forest Temple back in the Lost Woods.

"Have you ever seen it?" Saria asked curiously, forgetting for a moment that she was under water. Her words came out in several large bubbles quickly fled up towards the surface, but her voice still managed to escape and be heard. Rue stared at Saria for a moment before another embarresed blush crossed over her face.

"Well, no. I'm not old enough to travel anywhere beside Lake Hylia and the domain. Let's get inside," Rue stammered sheepishly before swimming away, pretending that she was not embarresed. Saria smiled and followed the girl towards the large temple looming before them.


	18. Chapter 18

**There is a poll on my profile. The only reason I am mentioning this is because it is about what story should be written after this story. I did leave an option available for another story in the Unwanted Love series, although I am not sure as of right now if I have a plot that could be used. **

* * *

Saria swam after Rue into the large open passageway. She stared around as she followed the zora girl into a large chamber, awed by the temple. A large stone column stood in front of them, its worn walls still etched with intricate designs. The room was at least twice as big as the main entrance for the forest temple, if not bigger. She looked down to see that the floor of the temple was far beneath them.

"Welcome to the zora temple! This is the main chamber. We don't host any of our ceremonies here, but…"

"Hey!" Rue stopped mid-sentence as a shrill voice interrupted her. Rue scowled at the obvious culprit before she noticed that there were two fairies now.

"There are two of them," Rue said, staring at Saria's fairy and Navi in confusion and fascination.

"I said _hey_! Listen to me! Oh never mind, just follow me now," Navi shouted before flying towards the left side of the large chamber. Without a thought, Saria immediately followed Navi to a small door. With some effort, she managed to pry open the door. Navi continued on, waiting once in a while for Saria to catch up.

"We are not supposed to go this way," Rue stated nervously as she followed behind Saria. Saria glanced back at her and noticed that she was getting a little nervous. Saria frowned at the zora girl's discomfort, but remembered that the girl's discomfort was not as problematic as whatever was going on between Malon, Nabooru, and Link. The two followed the fairy up a hole in the ceiling and into another room with frozen platforms leading downwards to a deep bottomless pit.

"What are those?" Saria asked as she glanced down at the platforms. She felt nervous as she stared down into the pit, even though she knew that she was swimming well above it. Something about the pit below them seemed dangerous.

"The temple can occasionally be drained of some of its water. However, it doesn't happen except in drought. Those are there in case of such a drought so that others can get into the deeper parts of the temple," Rue explained. They continued following the fairy through the room and into the next, Rue falling farther and farther behind as she became more nervous.

"I almost forgot how to get there. Thank goodness this place brought back some memories. It's been…" Navi murmured to herself, ignorant that both Saria and Rue could hear her. Rue glanced at Navi in confusion, but decided it would be better to simply see what the fairy was trying to show them.

"A fairy with a bad memory, that's really pathetic," the second fairy growled at Navi as she rushed forward to catch up to the other fairy.

"I've got a good reason to forget about this place! Hey, here it is!" Navi yelled, stopping in front of the door. Saria's fairy shrieked as it swerved to avoid Navi, mumbling angry words beneath its breath as they waited for Saria and Rue.

"We'll be in trouble, lots of trouble. If the captain or…" Rue stammered, looking at the door and the two fairies nervously before turning around. Her light blue face was dark with worry as she looked around, as if she was expecting her master to appear and scold her.

"We need to see what is behind the door," Saria stated.

"We should go back," Rue said, her voice now more certain as she grabbed Saria's arm. Saria quickly shook off the zora's hand and glared at her. She felt bad immediatly upon seeing that Rue was now scared of being caught.

"After this room, okay? I promise to take the blame if you get in trouble," Saria said soothingly. Rue glanced back towards the way they had come, bit her lip, and grudgingly agreed.

The door opened with both girls working together. The door slid open and the two yelped as suddenly the water sucked them into the room. Just as they entered, the door slammed shut and stopped the sudden current. They tumbled into a pile as the water pushed them deeper into the room and deposited them on the floor.

"What happened?" Rue muttered as she pushed away from Saria and stood up. Saria pushed herself to her feet and looked around the room. The room was completely bare, except for a single dead tree sitting in the center of the room. Saria stared at the tree and felt nervous.

"What is a tree doing in the temple?" Saria muttered as she stepped forward and touched the tree. She ran her hand along the dead tree's trunk and shuddered. Something was very wrong with the tree, besides that it was obviously dead.

"Who cares about a stupid tree. What is this place? There shouldn't be a dry area like this in the temple," Rue muttered. Saria glanced at the floor and thought about commenting on the ankle-deep water, but she then realized what she meant. They were no longer in swimming anymore. That's when she noticed the second thing, she did not have a reflection. She looked over towards Rue, who was wandering away and staring at the seemingly endless horizon and realized that she was also missing a shadow. There was some sort of enchantment in the room.

"Look out!" Saria barely heard the warning before she felt a boot kick her right between the shoulder blades. She yelped as she stumbled foward, nearly slipping in the cold water. She turned and froze as she saw her attacker. She would have mistaken him for Link, if it had been dark in the room. However, the doppleganger had dark silver hair, red eyes, dark skin, and black clothes. It also didn't help that he had a threatening scowl plastered on his face and his gloved hand resting on the hilt of a sword.

"A sage?" the creature hissed. Saria froze in terror, unable to even speak and say yes to the doppleganger's question. The doppelganger grinned as it decided that she was indeed a sage and that it needed to destroy her. He pulled the sword out of its scabbard and stalked towards Saria.

Rue roared in a shrill angry yell as she launched herself at the doppleganger's back. Her legs wrapped around the creature's stomach and she clutched at its head, pulling at its ears and hair in an attempt to distract it. Her plan worked, for the most part. The creature roared in rage and tried pulling her off its back, ignoring as she bit his reaching hands. After a moment, he managed to get a good grip on her arms and pulled the surprised girl up and over his shoulder. Rue squeaked in pain as she was thrown to the floor, a loud crack accompanying the thud of her fall. She howled in pain and curled into a ball in the ankle-deep water, ignorant of the doppelganger towering over her. It hissed angrily and raised its sword, prepared to attack while the girl was still frozen in pain and terror.

"Stop!" Saria howled. To her surprise, the doppelganger did indeed freeze. He turned and glared at Saria, ignoring Rue's pained gasps and sobs.

"You are not the sage of this goddess-damned temple. That very sage does not even know of my existence," he stated quietly. Saria bit her lip. The doppelganger sounded calm, amused even. He obviously did not see a threat in either of them and only stopped to see why she was there.

"I...we need your help," Saria stammered. She flinched as the doppelganger burst into laughter,

"A sage, needing my help? How foolish. How did you learn of my existence?" it hissed, a smile crossing its face as it managed to stop laughing.

"I can't explain what has happened, but you have to help. If you don't come with me, then…" Saria started. She then realized she had no idea how to get the doppelganger to follow her, let alone agree to her demand.

"Then what, little sage?" it asked, the smile not leaving its dark face.

"Then I will do this," Saria stated. Before she even realized what she was doing, she dug out the Forest Medallion and gestured towards the doppelganger. To her surprise, a bolt of wild bright green magic burst out and leapt at the shadow man, zigzagging as it arced towards him. The doppelganger realized what it was and tried to dodge the attack only to have it strike him in the chest. He was knocked off his feet,

"Light-forsaken brat," it howled, struggling back to its feet with its sword arcing high above his head in preparation to attack.

"I'll do it again! Don't stand up!" Saria squeaked, hoping she could do it again if the doppelganger decided to ignore her. The doppelganger scowled angrily, but slowly dropped his sword until it was loose at his side. However, he did not return it to its' sheath.

"Why are you here? To torment me? How pathetic," it hissed.

"I...need you to help me find Link..." she stammered.

"Me. Find the goddess-damn _hero_? You are the stupidest sage I have ever met. If I find him, I'd kill that damn bastard,"

"Of course. We need him dead," Saria stammered before she even knew what she was saying. She was appalled with herself, why would she want her best friend dead?

"You want the hero dead? A sage of the goddessses?" the doppelganger asked, his anger replaced with curiosity.

"He's not who he used to be. Something happened after he met with the princess and he just...I don't know how to describe it. He isn't the same anymore," Saria fibbed. She had no idea what she was doing, but she hoped it would work. The doppelganger stared at her for a moment and smiled to himself, a dark malicious smile that made Saria shiver just at the sight of it.

"How fitting, spiraling into madness after being forced to save a country that likely didn't care," He murmered, amused at the very idea of Link going crazy.

"Can you help us?"

"If it means I can kill that bastard, then I will help. Just be warned, if this is some clever trick..." the doppelganger stated before running his fingers along the sharpened edge of his sword threateningly. Saria knew what he meant by it.

"I understand," she stammered. The dark smile came back to the doppelgangers lips and he put the sword away.

"You must put a spell or something on me so I can leave the temple, though,"

"Why?"

"I am made from shadow. The sage for this temple truly is as ignorant as they come. Not only does she not know of a shadow being in her temple, but she neglects to tell a child sage about shadow creatures as well?" Saria flushed as he both insulted her and Ruto, but remembered that she still needed his help. She sighed before she focused on what she needed to do next.

* * *

Half an hour later, the three left the temple and reappeared beneath the large tree above the temple via shadow magic. The doppleganger, which she learned was named Dark Link, had decided to bring them out of the temple instead of trusting Saria's sage magic. Rue remained quiet when Saria had cast the spell on Dark Link and refused to let Saria touch her. However, upon spotting Malon and her master on the opposite shore, her muteness came to a startling halt.

"Master Quon!" Rue howled. Saria heard Dark Link mutter about crybabies under his breath and glared at him. He simply ignored her and looked up at the sky, as if it was something he had never seen before. The two on the other shore jumped at the shriek and Quon immediatly dove into the water and swam over. He quickly scrambled on shore and focused on Rue, who was still clutching her injured arm. He knelt before her and gently took her arm, frowning as she yelped in pain.

"What happened? What have you done?" Quon growled, glaring at Saria. He completely ignored Dark Link entirely. Malon, who had to run around the house and across the bridges, stopped short and stared at Dark Link in shock. The doppelganger noticed and glared at her. After a moment, he grew bored of staring at Malon and looked back up at the sky.

"It's…a demonic shadow! It's evil! Kill it!" Rue howled. Quon glanced between his sobbing apprentice and Dark Link and frowned.

"Rue? Are you okay?" Saria asked quietly.

"Leave me alone. You brought it out here," Rue sobbed. Saria stared at her before bleakly realizing that the zora girl was blaming her for her broken arm. The older zora turned away from them and carried his sobbing apprentice back towards the shore. He dove beneath the surface and the two vanished.

"I assume you are the other person the sage child mentioned?" Dark Link stated, staring at Malon. He was more staring at Malon's hair, having never seen red hair like it except on Ganondorf's own head.

"I am. We should be going, if we are to reach our destination," Malon replied, glancing at Saria questioningly. Saria shrugged, hoping that Malon wouldn't ask about anything until later and out of earshot of the doppleganger. Luckily, she understood and simply began walking away. Dark Link quickly followed Malon, leaving Saria to catch up to them.

"Um, Dark Link?" Saria asked timidly.

"What?" Dark Link snapped.

"What does damn mean?" she asked. He glanced back at her in confusion, looked at Malon to see if she had heard, and grinned when he had noticed that she had payed no attention to Saria's question.


	19. Chapter 19

Much to Malon's horror, the doppelganger managed to tell Saria what the words damn, bitch, shit, bastard, and sex meant. She did not find this out until they reached Epona and she overheard Saria asking more about why people would not tell her about the words. Malon and Navi both berated Dark Link for teaching her such words, especially since she was a child. However, he merely smiled and ignored their shouts of rage.

"And where are we to go to find him?" Dark Link asked.

"The Gerudo Fortress. If we take Epona, we should reach there before night falls. If we do not reach him by then, we will miss our opportunity," Malon replied.

"Let me guess, Epona is some sort of large pack animal?" Dark Link asked.

"Epona is Link's horse. We are borrowing her for a little while," Malon replied in annoyance. Dark Link frowned and was about to say something until he saw Epona. He stared at the horse in a mixture of confusion and anger. Epona stared back at Dark Link, not at all happy with his presence.

"And how do you expect to control this beast?" Dark Link asked, reaching out to grab her reigns. Epona quickly made it clear that she was not about to let him ride on her back. She snapped at his fingers and bit down hard. Dark link growled angrily as he shook her off. Epona snorted in rage and quickly trotted to Malon's side.

"I don't think you can ride her," Malon stated nervously.

"Really? I did not notice. I thought it was just being shy and would eventually accept me," Dark Link snarled, nursing his bitten hand bitterly. Malon smiled before turning to the horse.

"Epona, wait here. We will be back hopefully in a few days," Malon said. The horse butted her head against Malon before trotting around her towards to the lake.

"So we are to walk. Fine. Let us go then," Dark Link said, turning and walking away from Epona.

"Saria, was he like this down in the temple?" Malon asked nervously.

"No, he was not. He attacked us in the temple before we could explain why we were here. I think he is trying to be nice," Saria replied back. Malon frowned and stared at Dark Link's retreating back, astounded that someone would dare attack children.

"And he threatened us too! He was gonna hurt Saria and he hurt that girl that kind of looked like a fish! Do we have to have him come with us? I don't like him," Saria's fairy yelled.

"Unfortunately yes. We need him if our plan is going to work," Malon replied. Saria nodded and then frowned as she remembered.

"Oh, and he thinks he's gonna kill Link. Sorry," Saria quickly stammered. Malon blanched as she realized there was now another kink in their plan to save Link.

"It is not your fault. We will figure out how to do this without him discovering what is going on," Malon replied quietly. She quickly ushered the green-haired girl forward and started walking towards to Hyrule Field, not wanting to annoy the doppelganger any more and risk him discovering their scheme.

* * *

The day went by slowly as they trekked across the large field. Dark Link did not speak, only watched the expanse with a wary and wondering eye. Malon was not perturbed by it. In fact, she was grateful that he did not ask her questions that would be hard to answer, such as what the plan was to kill Link and why he was at the Gerudo fortress. Saria, on the other hand, was not used to such silence. Having spent her entire life in a forest village overrun by children that would never age, she had gotten used to always hearing voices and noises.

"How long have you been in that temple?" Saria asked quietly.

"It is hard to say how long. It is also none of your concern, sage," Dark Link .

"You can tell me. It's okay, we won't tell anyone else if that is what you want," Saria said, hopeful for an answer.

"If you must ask, then ask the sage in charge of the wretched temple and leave me alone. I am already bored of the questions," Dark Link growled.

"Has anyone ever taught you to mind your manners?" Malon asked, annoyed that he was being rude to Saria.

"I have been taught many things, manners were not necessary. Enough of the questions," the doppelganger stated, quickly trying to end the conversation before it got out of hand and he ended up talking about things he really should not speak of.

"Just cause you're some evil doppelganger of Link doesn't mean you can be a big jerk to everyone, you know!" Navi called out from Saria's shoulder. Dark Link scowled and pulled the fairy off of the girl's shoulder by her wing. The fairy squealed in pain and surprise, not expecting to be grabbed in such a manner.

"How sad would your precious Link be if I showed him your squashed body?" Dark Link asked, a wide grin spreading across his face as he watched the fairy struggle to free her wing.

"You wouldn't hurt me! Nope! You wouldn't dare!" Navi shrieked.

"How about you pick on someone your own size, you big bully!" Saria's fairy yelled, zooming off of Saria's shoulder and ramming full-force in between Dark Link's eyes. He hissed angrily at the fairy's attack and swiped at the attacking fairy with his free hand. Malon quickly took advantage of the distraction to grab at the hand holding Navi and freeing her. The released fairy immediately flew to safety and hid in Malon's hair. As soon as Navi was out of sight, the other fairy dodged the clawing hands and hid in Saria's bag. Dark Link snarled, glaring at Saria and Malon.

"Bring them out,"

"We don't have the time for this. We have to keep going or else we will miss our chance, so be silent and keep walking!" Malon yelled angrily. Dark Link raised his eyebrows in surprise at being shouted, but that surprise quickly vanished and was replaced with annoyance.

"I'm surrounded by stupid loud-mouthed bitches. If this didn't mean the hero's death, I would..." Dark Link grumbled, his voice shifting to unintelligible grumbles of anger as he stormed off.

"But I'm not a dog..." Saria mumbled to herself.

* * *

Nabooru sighed as she watched more and more of her sisters return from Hyrule field and the lands beyond, all with their catches and news of the lands. Several of them had brought her news of the gerudos that had been caught by the guards. Many of them had been sentenced to the stocks in the markets, unable to finish their role and return. Those that had not been sent to the stocks were imprisoned, waiting to be tried. While some of them would be pardoned by the Goddess due to their inexperience and youth, the older women that had the misfortune of getting caught were not going to be as lucky. They will be the ones assigned to the duties no one else wanted, such as latrine duty and mucking out the stalls.

"Nabooru, it is getting close to sunset. How are the preparations?" Nabooru jumped and turned to see that it was one of the elders.

"They are going well, Elder. Most of our sisters have returned. You may start getting ready," Nabooru replied, smiling warmly to the older woman. The elder smiled and left to tell the others, leaving Nabooru to her tasks.


	20. Chapter 20

It was times like these that Link wished he still had his ocarina on him. He could have skipped the entire wretched event with the mere use of a pretty song, the Sun's Song. However, he instead got to enjoy the hot sweltering day chained to a cell wall. His stomach growled hungrily to his annoyance, reminding him he should eat something.

The Gerudos had brought a small plate of food for him after the grisly whipping they had to watch. However, they had left it sitting just out of reach, close enough that he could tap the metal plate with his boot and yet too far away to use his feet to drag it closer. Even if he could, he was uncertain how he could eat it with his hands chained as they were. He also wondered how the Gerudos expected him to be able to relieve himself while chained to the wall, the bucket chained to the floor several feet away a blazing reminder of bodily functions he was trying desperately to ignore. The only time before this that he even got close to this problem was when he was down in the well, although relieving himself down there now probably wouldn't have affected the water supply as much as the redeads, bone flowers, and monsters did. At the time, all he could think was that he cannot foul the water supply and had to often retreat back up to the village, only to find more monsters upon his return.

He didn't like to think of that memory, or frankly of the horrors he had encountered in the well on that horrible journey to find a spyglass, but it helped him focus on something else besides his needs. As he thought of the trails, he could ignore the grumbling stomach, the parched throat, and keep himself from doing something he would regret.

"Link!" He jumped in shock, opening his eyes and glaring up at the Gerudo. Nabooru grinned down at him, looking especially pleased about something.

"You actually kept yourself together! No pants soiling, or tights soiling I guess I should say! Excellent, this makes this much easier," Nabooru said as she approached Link. He glared at her, ignoring the nagging thought about the others and if this was a common problem. Nabooru chuckled before setting a parcel of clothes besides Link and taking out an iron key. Link was surprised to hear the clinks and clanks of Nabooru freeing him, allowing his sore bruised arms to fall down finally after being kept chained up for who knows how long.

"Change into those clothes and get ready for the festival," Nabooru said curtly. Link scowled and with a burst of speed fueled by his brewing frustration and stood turned and stared at him as he lunged for her. She did not dodge the attack, allowing Link to grab a hold of her throat easily.

"I will not take a part of this, Nabooru. I will be leaving now," Link growled. She rolled her eyes, to his annoyance. She grabbed his wrists and before he knew it, he was suddenly rolling off of her shoulder and crashing onto the ground. He grunted in pain as he rolled over and started standing up. He felt an odd warmth seeping down and froze, thinking he had been hurt somehow and started bleeding in panic. Then he realized what it was as a look of disgust and annoyance crossed Nabooru's face.

"And I was so pleased about how good you have been. Things can never turn out the way I wanted, I suppose," Nabooru groaned, wrinkling her nose and ooking down at him in annoyance. He ignored the comment and leapt up, ready to take her down if she tried to stop him from escaping. She shook her head before dodging his attack and whistling a short note. Before he could react, several Gerudos that had been guarding outside of the room ran inside, jumping onto Link's back and driving him down to the ground underneath their combined weight.

"Thank you, sisters," Nabooru said. The other Gerudos grumbled their answers before hauling him up to his feet.

"Let's clean you up, Link," Nabooru said. The other Gerudos giggled as they dragged him out of the cell and into the hallway.

* * *

As Malon, Saria, and Dark Link approached the bridge that crossed over the gorge separating the Gerudo territory from the rest of Hyrule, they realized there was a problem they had not counted on. The bridge was guarded by four armed Gerudos. They were much younger than the Gerudos that usually stood guard of the bridge, probably a few years away from becoming adults. However, the stern no-nonsense look in their eyes betrayed that they were prepared for their job just like the elders that usually stood guard.

"I thought they would all be inside..." Malon muttered to herself, not wanting Saria to hear the worry in her voice. She couldn't help being worried, it was past sun down and what time they had left to stop the Wild Hunt was quickly vanishing.

"Problem?" Dark Link asked, grinning in smug amusement. Malon scowled and ignored him, trying to think of a way to get past the four guards.

"Is something wrong? Who are the other tall people? Are they friends?" Saria asked, noticing that they were no longer moving and staying out of sight of the four Gerudos.

"Nothing is wrong, Saria. There is a little thing we need to deal with before we can..." Malon started, stopping as she saw Dark Link smirk. He stepped away from the group and walked towards the four Gerudos, pulling the sword free of its scabbard.

"Oh no," Malon whispered as she watched him approach the guards. It was too late to stop him, they stiffened at their posts and one of them walked forward to stop him before he got any closer to the bridge.

"What is going on? Where is he going?" Saria asked. Malon frowned before pulling Saria close to her.

"Nothing is going on, I need you to stay quiet, okay?" Malon said shakily as she pulled Saria into a hug and covered her ears. Saria frowned in confusion, but did as complied. Malon looked up and watched as the Gerudo reached Dark Link and was cut down, to the shock of the poor girl and the outrage of the other Gerudo guards. They leapt at Dark Link to save their friend, only to engage in a deadly dance with the doppelganger that left the four young guards bleeding to death on the bridge. Dark Link kicked all four bodies off the bridge without a care and looked back towards them. The look on his face made her instantly regret bringing him out of the temple underneath of the water. His expression of pure glee and blood-thirst was haunting to look upon.

"Nayru, Farore, and Din..." she whispered in fear, now wondering how she was to save Link and get rid of Dark Link without bloodshed.

* * *

The Gerudos were still giggling as they dragged Link out of the bathroom. It grated on Link's already frazzled nerves, making the whole spectacle that had occurred even more embarrassing and humiliating than it had been before. The crazy Gerudo guards had dragged him off into a large bath, stripped him, and washed him as if he were a helpless infant. There were other men in the room receiving the same treatment, some to the men's amusement and rest to their rage and horror. The realization that he was not the only one stuck in this position was not comforting, in fact it only drove in the wretched situation even more humiliating. Nabooru had vanished sometime during this exchange, probably to laugh about the whole situation without being seen by Link, he guessed.

"Stop laughing," Link grumbled angrily. One of the Gerudos looked at him and a wicked smile crept across her face.

"What's the matter? Feeling nervous after comparing with your other men?" she asked, pinching his cheeks as she mocked him. The Gerudos snickered again and continued on their way, dragging Link with them. Link ignored the comment and tried thinking about how he could escape before the situation could get any worse.

Then they walked him into the main hall of the fortress. The hall was decorated extravagantly for the festival, rich fabrics draped across the high ceilings and tables covered in rich-smelling food that made Link's already hungry stomach scream at him for something to eat. He could see some familiar faces around the room, their expressions marred with worry and fear. They were all sitting on thick woven mats, their ankles bolted to the floor and arms clamped together in front of them. Obviously, they were not taking any risks of them vanishing during the festival to escape what came afterward.

"All right, my good fellow, you sit _here_!" One of the Gerudo's said as they forced him to sit on a large purple mat, holding him down as the other Gerudo forced him into the . He kicked out, catching the woman along the jaw and knocking her down. The Gerudo holding him roared in anger and wrapped an arm around his throat, crushing his throat easily. He struggled for air, ignoring the woman he kicked as she got back up. She wiped away a trail of blood from her mouth and forced his legs into the chains, preventing him from escaping. The woman also grabbed a set of chain and clamped them around his wrists, just like the others had. Once he was secured and near-unconscious, the Gerudo choking him released him. He sputtered for breath as the arm pulled away. The second Gerudo waited until he regained his breath, and then slapped him hard across the face.

"You are lucky, boy," she growled, and then the two women left him. Link shook off the slap as best as he could, it left his ears ringing and a mild headache on top of hunger and thirst. He tested the bonds, hoping to see how loose they were. Unfortunately, they were strong and resolute, they were not going to budge soon. He glanced around the hall, hoping to see something useful. The first thing he spotted was a large pedestal where an enormous basin sat. In the basin, nestled amongst coals and wood, a fire blazed. He frowned, wondering why they needed a fire when the day had been hot outside, and looked around. He started as he noticed that most of the Gerudos had vanished, leaving the captive men alone in the room.

"Well, this sucks," Link smiled as he heard Evan shout in annoyance. As if to answer Evan, the doors opened and the Gerudos re-entered. Link could not resist staring at the women, although he knew he needed to escape. The women were dressed in fine brightly-colored silk, exposing much of their lean bodies with embroidered shirts that bared their bellies and breezy near-transparent skirts that showed off their legs without exposing too much for the eye to see. Nabooru came in last, dressed as lavishly as the other Gerudos and grinning as madly as they were. They each walked to their captive, standing next to the man without glancing down at him. Nabooru, however, ignored this and approached the pedestal with the fire. All of the Gerudos turned to the door and waited patiently for the last Gerudo to arrive. Elder Nimona walked through the doors, her face stern and thoughtful. She approached the pedestal, standing on the opposite side of Nabooru.

"Elder Nimona, please proceed," Nabooru said, kneeling before the older Gerudo and bowing her head in respect. The other Gerudos knelt before the elder as well, copying Nabooru's actions as if it had been practiced many times before. The elder nodded slowly to Nabooru before raising her arms up towards the ceiling.

"Lady of the Sun, who guards our way with light and blesses us with her wisdom, we honor you with our love. We have fulfilled the Holy task you have set before us and we will honor you with song and dance. Permit us now, your Grace, to honor and serve you with our cherished friends you have graciously granted us," Elder Nimona called out, her voice strong and beautiful. The central fire shivered and the Gerudos stood, turning to face the fire. It shrank for a moment, a tiny flame sitting amongst a bed of hot coals, and then burst into fiery blue glory.

"Praise be the Lady! Praise be the Lady! Praise be the Lady of the Sun!" The Gerudos screamed with glee, clapping their hands and twirling around with sheer happiness. They danced around, singing and feasting and plying their captives with wine. Link saw Nabooru approach him and realized that he was running out of time.

* * *

Malon was forced to leave Saria behind, more for her own protection than anything else. With the doppelganger now blood-thirsty and itching for a ferocious battle, there was no way she could ensure that she would be kept safe if they ran into any more trouble. She stayed behind with both fairies, sitting by the bridge and playing in the sand. A band of carpenters kept an eye on the green-haired Kokiri, working on reinforcing the bridge in case of bad weather and making sure nothing came out to attack her.

"Finally, no more of those horrid questions from the sage-bitch," Dark Link said happily, his attitude lightning up to a dark glee at the prospect of killing Link. Malon frowned nervously and kept ahead of the doppelganger, managing to lead him on a path that did not end with him attacking any more young Gerudo guards. They eventually made it into the heart of the fortress compound and spotted bright lights and heard music coming from a large hall set slightly off the main path to the desert.

"What can it be now?" Dark Link grumbled. Malon shushed him, to Dark Link's annoyance, and hurried over to the hall. She kept an eye on the guards as she snuck by them, praying they would not notice them. Luckily, the guards seemed mesmerized by the music, ignoring them entirely She gestured Dark Link over and then peered through the window and into the hall. She spotted Link almost immediately, looking horribly uncomfortable and chained down to the floor. She bit her lip as she saw how little the Gerudos were dressed, feeling both embarrassed to see them and wondering what she would look like in such a skimpy outfit. She bit her lip as she thought, wondering how to pull him out and vanish into the night without getting caught and killed.

"I can see he has joined a group of harlots and whores," Dark Link muttered, glancing over Malon's shoulder to see what the fuss was about. Malon quickly thanked the Goddesses that she had left Saria behind by the bridge, she did not want to hear the girl ask about what harlots and whores were.

"...We were not aware he...made an ally with the Gerudos..." Malon said quietly. Dark Link snorted and then his red eyes widened with recognition.

"Allying with the same kin as Ganondorf himself? Hmph. Look at that wretched goddess-pawn, sitting amongst such ravishing women..." Dark Link growled as he continued speaking, his voice darkening with barely contained hatred as he stared at his counterpart. Malon looked up at Dark Link, her worry only making her frazzled thoughts become more panicked. He pulled his sword free from its scabbard and hissed angrily under his breath, already ready for the fight he thought was coming.

_He doesn't realize this is against Link's will. There may yet be a chance..._ Malon thought. Then Dark Link stood up and walked towards the large double-doors that led into the hall.

"Don't do anything yet, we still need a plan!" Malon said quickly, reaching out and grabbing Dark Link's arm as if that alone could stop the man before he was spotted. Dark Link growled angrily and brushed off Malon's hand. He stormed out and met the two guards charging at him, dodging their spears easily and cutting them down like grass.

"Damn any plan of yours," Dark Link growled before he stormed to the front doors and threw them wide open.


End file.
